Chronicles of Terrus
by Vestara
Summary: This is the story of an Empire Yeerk named Terrus.
1. Chronicles of Terrus:Prologue

Chronicles of Terrus Book 1: Empire Days Prologue

7 full Yeerk cycles ago.  
>Hork Bajir homeworld. Yeerk Pooltraining facility 790 or Genen.

So many years ago I was Terrus 5633 of the Yeerk Empire. That's all there was to me. Just me, just rising through the ranks. Just doing my duty to the cause. I was dead serious, i was dangerous, and very young.  
>I was also unusually curious for a Yeerk. I wanted to have every little thing explained. Why we had to go through this training course, why we were being transferred there, WHY two other Hork Bajir controllers were standing right in front of me attempting to engage me in conversation about pointless things. Those two Yeerks were Eliza 388 and Serri 481. Then Sub Vissers 183 and 185. I was not yet at even a Sub Visser rank at the time.<p>

"Do you think she's having trouble with her host still?" Serri whispered to Eliza, as if I couldn't hear! "After 4 months? I don't think so. I heard she's as vicious as a Taxxon already." Eliza whispered back.

Serri grinned his terrifying Hork bajir grin and said " Let's test her out shall we?" As he was bringing one of his wrist blades to my throat I said clearly "Do that and you'll end up dead faster than you could ever hope." Serri looked startled and quickly lowered his arm. "You might want to rethink that miss, see, we're your assigned squadies." pointing to himself and then Eliza.

I was angry and surprised by his statement. Perhaps I was too blunt in saying so but I said "I work better alone. I don't need two distractions in combat." Eliza suddenly started laughing, maybe at how serious I was being or maybe she thought I was joking but she said "Better to have two distractions on your side helping you than 30 distractions trying to kill you and no back up!" I decided pretty quickly that I liked her. I suppose I liked Serri for how gutsy he was. I sighed and rhetorically stated "I'm going to be stuck with you for a very long time aren't I?" Serri once again grinned and nodded.

I had no idea then how long that would really turn out to be.


	2. Chapter 1:An Unlikely Trio

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 1: An unlikely trio

7 full Yeerk cycles ago.  
>Hork Bajir homeworld. Yeerk Pooltraining facility 790

I had endured another 4 horrid months of training courses,made even more horrid by my two distractions because of a Vissers insistence that however much of a hot shot I thought I was, when the time came I absolutely WOULD NOT go into combat alone. At the time I thought "Shows how much he knows" but really it was "Shows how much I don't know".

Today I was moping around the Pools perimeter, sitting on the edge, legs hanging off, staring into the trees. Something caught my eyes out there, a rustle of movement, however I quickly dismissed it because nothing hostile could get close without being disintegrated. I heard approaching footsteps, I knew who it was and in spite of myself I looked behind me. Of course, it was my Distractions on approach. I tried to trip them with my tail and they laughed at how stupid I was acting.

Serri spoke first "Happy to see us miss?" I couldn't help but smile at that. "Of course I'm happy to see you. Why wouldn't I be happy to see the two Distractions that plague me and constantly succeed while I fail? Good luck with being a bug fighter pilot Serri, Eliza good luck with whatever it is your so happy about. I don't even know what you tested out for." Eliza was worried about me and asked "How long have you been here doing nothing? That can't be good for you. I mean this isn't the end of the world, yes you failed on all counts but at least you get a second chance! Remember what happened to Betta 193? He was starved to death. We're still together, we're still a team." I went back to staring at nothing again, not really paying any attention to them or their useless words.

At some point I tuned back in and just told them "Stop distracting me because that's all you are:Distractions. Go crowd Heyo triple two I'm sure he'd love all this attention. Maybe his head will explode." Serri had had enough of this, he reached down, grabbed me by the shoulders, yanked me to my feet and started speaking to me. "Look Terrus I know you're mad because you failed, but it's like Eliza said, at least you get a second chance. You can be angry all you want but it's not right that you're taking it out on us!"

I noticed he still had a grip on my shoulders. I didn't bother telling him to get his filthy claws off me, I knew he was right.I glared at him for a few more moments and then sighed "I'm sorry for being this way to you two. Now let go of me".  
>That just seemed to make him angrier "I didn't want an apology for the way you've been treating us this whole time I wanted a sign that you're your old self again. We need you." Eliza didn't want a real fight happening so she stepped in and said loudly "What's this? Fraternization within the ranks? How cute!" It seemed to do the trick, as Serri quickly let go of me and stepped back.<br>Unfortunately a few other controllers and, speak of the devil, Heyo triple two started over to see what was happening.

Eliza smiled again and whispered "Maybe I shouldn't have said that so loud hmm?" I smiled back and replied "Darkap on your part Eliza, Fallanna for letting go of me Serri." He smiled too and tried (and failed) to still sound angry "You're lucky she intervened or I would have thrown you into the Pool." We all started laughing but shut up quickly when we realized Heyo and his entourage had us sourrounded.  
>Heyo himself took a single graceful step forward and was face to face with me. I would have killed him then and there, except that I noticed one of his minions had a dracon beam pointed at me. I refocused my attention on Heyo. "What do you want this time?" I asked.<p>

He faked a look of surprise and said "Nothing this time. I just couldn't help but notice how familiar you three are with each other." As me and my two Distractions formed a back to back triangle formation, Heyo really WAS surprised and said to his people "Look at this, I think they've actually learned how to be a proper team! Do you feel confident with these two backing you up Terrus?" As his circle of Hork Bajit got closer Eliza asked, "Is there any way we can get out of this without losing limbs? That's why you're really here isn't it? You want to get rid of us because we're the only other team here that can be competition for you."

Heyo considered her for a moment before finally saying "No. I don't believe there is any way you can get out of this without injury or death. I always thought Serri was the smart one. You have me all figured out Eliza."  
>Serri seemed offended and directed at Heyo "All three of us are the smart ones. Know why? Because the training indicates that the three of us are able to kill all 8 of you. Whereas your training..well you need 8 friends with you to even confront us."<br>Heyo actually looked angry and spat out "You three have real attitude problems. This is no way to talk to a Visser."

Fortunately (Or unfortunately) I was angrier than him. I was impatient. "Serris' stupidity aside, we know we aren't getting out of this without a fight so why not start early?" I lunged at Heyo and feinted a slash for his neck, he raised his wrist blade to block but instead I ducked down and slashed for his legs and missed. As he jumped back two Hork Bajir moved into place to take me on. In the few seconds it took for that to happen I glanced around for my Distractions. They were already distracting me! I shouldn't be worrying about them! My Distractions were taking on two opponents at once, as I was. I saw Eliza knock the Dracon Beam from her enemies' hand. I noticed two none engaged Hork Bajir running off. What cowards! My battle analysis completed I returned to my own two enemies. They both slashed for me at the same moment.

As I had done with Heyo moments ago, I ducked down, but instead of slashing I brought my left leg sweeping in and caught one of them with my leg blades, causing him to go down with nothing to stand on. The still standing Hork Bajir sliced for my throat but Serri shoved his own opponent into my path, sealing his fate. With that one down and the attacker off balance and for a split second, confused by the turn of events, I rushed toward him, grabbed his left shoulder, sliced his right arm off with my right wrist blade, spun myself around his body and drove my elbow blade into the back of his skull. Perhaps not neccessary, but fun, I decapitated him with my still free right wrist blade.

I looked down to see where the legless Hork Bajir from earlier was, unsurprisingly he wasn't where I left him. I assumed he had fled or died so I made my way over to my Distractions. I felt and heard a Hork Bajir blade go through my left foot! As I went down I flipped over and saw the legless Hork Bajir raising his blade to decapitate me. He never got the chance, Eliza fired, the beam was so close to me I had to shut my eyes, when I opened them again there was the Hork Bajir with a hole between his eyes.

My Distractions ran over to me, Eliza had been sliced in the back of the shoulder, had part of her tail cut off, and one of her leg blades was missing. Serri didn't appear to have any injuries. We all smiled and laughed for a few minutes until Eliza spoke up "Did you see those two Hork Bajir run off? And Heyo too!" We only laughed more from that until we stopped. And began again because WE had won.  
>Serri flashed me a stupid grin and said to me "Do you still think we're Distractions miss?"<p>

I didn't even hesitate in saying no. They weren't Distractions. They had saved my life twice.


	3. Chapter 2: Case File 12205

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 2;Case File 122.05

Hork Bajir homeworld. Yeerk Pool/training facility 790-Current exact location-sick bay

It had been an hour since the fight at the Pool and Serri, Eliza and I had recovered from our wounds and fatigue. (In Serri's case, just fatigue) For a while we just sat in silence until I put a question to them that had been on my mind since the fight. "Heyo and those two other losers ran off. Do you think he told anyone about what happened?" Serri mulled it over for a couple of seconds. "You really think he'd tell anyone about that? Chances are he kept it to himself, not that you could hide something like that though. He doesn't want to ruin his promising career." Eliza threw a disapproving look at him and said "You're being really insensitive you know that? Or did you forget about the whole reason we went there in the first place?" Apparently he HAD forgotten. He looked at me and made to apologize but I cut him off "It's okay. You can talk about successful careers in front of me." I smiled to show I was sincere and continued, "In fact, I don't care what rank I am, i don't. I could become Visser One and I still wouldn't care. All I care about is staying alive and making sure that my two best friends stay alive and are happy. i'm not going anywhere in my career path right now so I might as well help you advance in yours."  
>They stared at me in shock, looked at each other, then back at me. Both exclaimed at the same time,<p>

"MISS, ARE YOU INSANE?"  
>"That's so sweet! Are you sure about this?"<br>I looked at each of them for a few seconds, remembering when we first met, the 4 months of training together, and most recently our first real combat situation, faced as a team. "That thought has crossed my mind alot lately. And yes, I'm sure about this." Serri hesitated before asking "So where does this leave you and orders from above?" I playfully punched his shoulder and replied "You must be the crazy one for asking that. I'll still follow orders. How I interpret and carry out those orders is a whole different story." Eliza looked suddenly excited and gave Serri and I an unexpected hug and got a simultanious shout of "MIND THE BLADES" in return. She stepped away with a smile and said to Serri "Do you know what time it is now?" He looked baffled and just stared. She rolled her eyes at him and answered herself "It's time to visit the hanger. Your bug fighter should be here, I can't believe you forgot!" The three of us left the sick bay and started through the maze of hallways, I noted that the controllers we passed were staring at us with something in their eyes, I didn't know if it was fear or awe. Maybe it was both. Eliza and Serri noticed as well, as they both grinned. "I think we have a reputation." Eliza said happily. "A reputation for killing our own people, that's such a great one to have." I said sarcastically.

We walked on and saw a group of about 6 or 7 controllers, comprised of Hork Bajir, Gedd and Taxxon all running towards us. We stopped walking and as the knot of controllers passed, Serri tripped one of the Hork Bajir controllers who fell into a Gedd, sending him to the floor as well. Paying the Gedd no attention, he asked the Hork Bajir "What's happening? Where is everyone running?" The controller recovered from his fall, looked back at the other controllers and then said quickly. "New Yeerk, new host. He's squaring off against Visser 47 and Sub Vissers 155 and 156 on the training room floor, we're going to watch." He started off after the other controllers, leaving us unsure of where to go. The only thing that registered for me was Visser 47. Heyo.  
>Serri made up his mind first for he switched directions and headed back the other way. He looked over his shoulder and said "You coming or what? Come on, 3 on 1! A new species!" Eliza looked at me uncertainly. "3 on 1..I have to see this. I suppose you have to too, seeing as Heyo is one of the three. I think you're hoping he'll get killed by whoever the new agent is." As the three of us made our way to the training room I thought aloud "Maybe the new guy will join up with us after Heyo is beaten to death."<p>

Serri took on a mock arrogant tone and said "I don't think we need a fourth team member. He'd get in the way." I shoved him into the wall and laughed. "Probably as much as you and Eliza do." Eliza caught me off guard and pushed ME into the wall. "Oh yeah like you never get in the way?" I faked outrage and said "That's different! I don't get in the way. I'm just reckless. Technically I'm getting out of the way."

We turned the final corner to the training room, went up the stairs to the balcony and groaned at the sight of 20 or so controllers watching the action below and cheering Heyo on. We stopped at the edge of the crowd and Serri said sadly "Great. We missed all the relevant information and who knows how much of the fight, on top of that, since we're stuck back here we'll never know how Heyo dies." I suddenly had a very crazy idea. "Well, maybe these nice folks will clear a space up front for the newly christened Visser 46 and her bodyguards." Eliza grinned "I bet they will. Serri? You up for being a bodyguard for the new Visser 46?" He laughed and said "I've been preparing for this role my entire life." I gave them both a quick smile "If this works I'm going to be amazed. Here we go." I stood straight and tall, put a bit of a swagger into my step, then we moved into the crowd.

We didn't meet any opposition on our way to the front, thanks in part to Eliza and Serris' shouts of "Make way! Come on move it you filthy mongrels! Visser 46 coming through show some respect!" For those few seconds, I felt the part. I felt confident. I felt what I couldn't have or be, at least not yet. Now at the front, we got our first look at what was happening below. My eyes instantly picked out Heyo and his two minions, the former hiding behind the latter. Figures. My Distractions were still standing a little ways behind and on either side of me, playing the role of bodyguards. I heard Serri whisper in a disappointed tone "We still missed everything! There's not even any use being here now. We might as well just head over to the hanger." I heard Eliza agree with him.

I kept my eyes glued to the floor below, watching Heyo intently, watching the movement of the other two controllers. A sharp jab in my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. I turned around angrily to see my Distractions watching me as I had been watching Heyo. "WHAT?" I demanded. They'd just stopped my careful planning dead! They looked at each other and Eliza said quickly "We know what you're up to Terrus. Even a Taxxon would shy away from the hunger in your eyes." Serri looked ready to bodily haul me away from here. He talked fast like Eliza had, "We aren't stupid miss. We know you're going to jump down there and fight it out with Heyo."

I didn't have time to deal with this. I glared at them and said angrily "WELL? Are you two in or are you out? If you're in then stay out of my way, if you're out then enjoy the fight." They glanced at each other quickly and both said "We'd rather stay out of your way." I grinned and said "Perfection." Then I turned and jumped.  
> <p>


	4. Chapter 3: Case File 12206

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 3: Case File 122.06

10 seconds to the ground.  
>They haven't noticed me yet..<br>9 seconds to the ground Targets acquired..  
>8 seconds to ground Closer..<br>3 seconds Right over their heads..  
>2 seconds Time slows. Heyo meets my eyes. Too late..<br>0 seconds Go..

I grappled right guards' face with my talons, on the ground now, I rolled and threw right guard into left guard. Right guard got up, I ran at him, slammed a blade into his torso 6 times, he raised his blades, I knocked his arms back, then cut his head in half vertically. I glanced around for Heyo and spotted him running to a side room on my left. Specifically, the room that contained all manner of weaponry we'd use on missions. I wasn't worried, they were just training weapons. The most they could do was inflict temporary paralysis and distracting burns. I turned around and expected to see "target 2" or "left guard" taking some kind of offensive against me, instead, he was just standing there staring at target 1.

I sighed and asked "Was he a friend of yours?", He looked at me and nodded. "Okay, you have about 15 seconds to get out of here before Heyo comes out and starts shooting. If you don't leave I'll have to kill you. Where's the new recruit? Weren't you fighting..it?" He shuddered visibly at the mention of it and said "Yes. We WERE fighting it, it got bored and crawled up a wall and then last we saw of it, it was on the ceiling." I laughed to mask the fact that I was starting to feel a bit scared already. What kind of thing could crawl on walls and ceilings made of Ramonite? What could be so good that it got BORED of fighting 3 enemies?

At the sight of Heyo raising twin dracon beams at me I threw myself to the side and watched the beams go past, hit target 2 square on and turn his torso into one huge hole. That wasn't at all what I was hoping to see happen. How did he even get live weapons from there? I got up and stared in shock.

Heyo lowered his weapons and shouted from across the floor "You always push things up a level, just once I wanted to beat you at that!" I stood tensed, ready to dodge if he decided to fire again. I yelled back "Congratulations Heyo! Good job, I'm sure they'll bump you up a few ranks for bringing weapons to a blade fight! Come on, where's your sense of fair play? Put those things down and I'll actually give you a chance!" He started walking towards me, I noted the weapons. As he came to a stop in front of me I saw he was shaking. From anger? He raised his arms slowly to shoulder level and dropped the weapons.

I grinned at him, threw a quick punch, anticipating he'd go to slash my arm off. He did exactly that, I twisted to avoid his wrist blade, cut his right arm off, then stepped back just outside of his reach. He hissed in pain and yelled "Why not just take my head off already? You're enjoying this aren't you?" I took another few steps back and clashed my wrist blades together. "I'd love to slice your head off, you know that. I'm going to let you live because my distractions and I could use you in our team. Consider this an official invitation." He stared at me for a full 5 seconds before responding "You want me to join you? How do I know you won't kill me at any future time that's convenient and conceielable? How do you know I won't try to kill you?"

I clashed my blades again and stepped closer. "First of all, my two good friends will go up through the ranks like crazy, I'll just be along for the fun. If you join us you'll get partial credit for every successful mission, maybe even complete credit in some debriefings if we're in good moods. We won't try to kill you because having an extra team member is always beneficial. The simple reason as to why you won't kill us is because you need us to advance," I couldn't resist adding this last bit "You don't seem like you're doing so good right now, maybe you should get yourself a new host. One with all limbs working would be perfect."

He ignored the taunt and leaned in so we were eye to eye. He brought up his wrist blade and slowly ran it down my chest. He moved his blade over to clash with my left wrist blade. I didn't dare move a muscle. He smiled a genuine smile, pulled his arm back to his side and took two steps back. He only said one thing. "I accept."

Elizas' voice, issued from the training rooms announcement system beneath the control booth, interrupted any further conversation. "Attention all trainees, that means Visser 47 Heyo 222 and no ranked Yeerk Terrus 5633, please exit the training room floor within the next 20 seconds because I'm now initiating emergency lockdown variation 573 or Shekker. Please note that during this lockdown period, all entry ways onto the training room floor will be sealed and exterior bulkheads will be lowered over the control booth and the overwatch balcony. All dracon cannons will be using the highest power level below the one that blows holes in walls. Remember: Dracon cannons don't care who you are. If you're moving you're dead. Have a nice day."

I picked up the dracon beams and mentally yelled at myself to get moving! Around 20 seconds and we were in the middle of the huge room! DAPSEN! Heyo! I saw that he was already halfway to the nearest exit. I ran after him as fast as I could, counting down the seconds as I saw everything shift. A dracon cannon about as tall as I was rose from the floor inbetween Heyo and me, as another one front left rose up and targeted Heyo's retreating back. The former cannon locked on to me and fired. I saw a 7 foot metallic barrier form. I dove left, rolled, and pressed myself up against it.

15 seconds left. I ran out from behind the wall. I saw Heyo clear the exit. Both cannons focused on me as I ran forward. I aimed and fired my two dracon beams at the front left cannons support braces. Unable to move, it just kept firing straight. Perfect! I strafed left and kept going. As I was directly infront of it I grabbed it and spun it around to fire at the still aim capable cannon ahead. I kept moving onward. As the cannon ahead swiveled to target me, it was struck by cannon rounds from the one I had damaged previously, putting it out of commission too.

Now around 7 seconds left, I put on a burst of speed and threw a quick glance behind myself. I really shouldn't have. 6 cannons behind me, 2 barriers on left and right and 3 in the middle. 2 of the cannons aimed between the barriers and started firing. I ran a little ways to the right, forcing them to fire uselessly at the barriers. I focused again on the exit. I was about 10 strides away from it. 4 seconds left! I glanced once more behind myself and saw on the far wall, cannons coming out and beginning to fire. Heh. Took them long enough to adapt! I cleared the exit with half a second left! I kept on running down the corridor and did a little hop as 3 rogue rounds went past and almost took out my tail and my feet. Finally the metal door slammed shut. I stopped running. I took one step to the hallway wall and just collapsed against it. I lay there feeling the cold hard metal of the wall and floor, and I fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 4: Everything misplaced

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 4: Everything misplaced...

Hork-Bajir Homeworld-Training facility 790

I slowly became aware of everything. I felt the metal wall. I felt the floor. I recognized what body I was in and where I was. I remembered what had happened on the training room floor. I remembered the deal I'd made with Heyo, and that he'd accepted. I could hear voices and movement around me in the hallway. I picked out the voices of my distractions. I opened my eyes.

It seemed like everyone from the balcony was now crowding around me! Just perfect. A voice in my head told me to get my act together and get out of there as fast as I could! I couldn't tell if it was my voice, the voice of one of my distractions or even our combat instructor. I didn't care. I listened to it. So had my distractions. They were shouting at the crowd. "Get lost you worthless grubs! You stand there gawking at Visser 46 and she'll cut your blades off and make you eat them! Maybe I should report you to our esteemed Visser 25. He's the guy in charge of this whole facility! Clear off!" Oh. Of course. I was still playing the role of Visser 46. I got to my feet. Everyone went quiet, including my distractions. I gave all of them my best death glare and made my voice as harsh as possible. "Leave within the next 10 seconds or I'll cut the head off every single one of you." They all started leaving very quickly. I gave a fake glare at my distractions and feigned disgust. "Not you two. Sub Vissers 183 and 185. You stay."

As soon as everyone was gone I dropped the act instantly. I smiled at them both and asked Eliza, "How did you know how to change the training room scenario? AND HOW DID YOU GET THOSE CANNONS TO USE LIVE BOLTS? WHY DID YOU EVEN DO THAT?" She smiled back and seemed embarrassed. She looked away and said "Well I..that's what I tested out for. Training instructor. How did I do it? I just used the most suited scenario that would help you get rid of Heyo and the new recruit and I combined it with real activation codes for emergency lockdowns. Heyo WAS pretty close to you and the new recruit was nowhere in sight so I thought they had both planned something! It was Serris' idea to include the live rounds anyway! He suggested it and asked if it could be done and I said yes but do you think it's safe with Terrus down there too and he said of course it is!" I glared at Serri and didn't say a word. After 3 seconds he cracked and muttered "I know I know. I could have gotten you killed.."

I smiled and gave him a playful shove. "It's okay. You're forgiven. But I have to tell you both something. It's the reason Heyo and I stopped fighting and why he was standing so close to me," I threw a grin at Eliza before continuing. "I asked him to join up with us. I told him he'd have a far greater chance to advance with us than on his own. We both agreed that no attempts will be made on each others lives." Serri kicked the wall on hearing that last part. I grinned and said "I know it makes me sad too. But I said WE won't make attempts on his life. I didn't say anything about protecting him from anyone else. How's that sound to you two?" Serri beamed at me, while Eliza frowned before saying "I don't like it. If he's on the team he should be treated like a member of the team. I'm not saying we have to like him all of a sudden, or that he has to like us, but we should at least protect him and be civil."

She had a point. I hated it when she was right. "Okay," I said. "We treat him as a team member and we protect him if we have to. But I'm not going to be giving him hugs and smiles all the time. Serri? You agree with Eliza?" He kicked the wall again and sighed. "I suppose. Yes. But ONLY for missions okay? That's my catch. We only mix with him on missions. When we're off mission we go our seperate ways. I don't want to put up with him all the time." Eliza laughed and nodded. "I don't think he'll want to put up with us all the time either!"

We laughed for about a full minute before regaining composure. A thought crossed my mind. It probably should have crossed my mind earlier today, when we'd killed those Yeerks at the Pool. I quietly stated "We're going to be in trouble with Visser 25 for all that we've done today." Serri and Eliza exchanged looks of amusement and began laughing again. I was confused. "HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY BE FUNNY?" They stopped laughing at that. Eliza looked at Serri, he shook his head and silently looked at her. She sighed and said "Okay I'll explain. While you were sleeping Serri was at the balcony database terminal. He put in a report to Visser 25 detailing the events that happened on the training room floor. With some modifications. The new recruit is a traitor. That new agent has been here as long as we have. He was infiltrating the ranks which justifies everything that went on there. Visser 25 responded with 'good work Sub Vissers 180 and 179' "

I only managed to get out one sentence "You're amazing beings!" They beamed at me. I was still puzzled by one thing though. I looked at Eliza and asked "Why is Serri Sub Visser 179? All he did was file the report! You're the one who messed with the controls and operated it all! It takes 4 people to work all that and JUST YOU DID IT!" She looked abashed and said "Calm down it's okay! And did you notice you were never recognized by Visser 25? He didn't mention you at all. I can't imagine he hasn't heard anything about your part in this yet." I smiled at her and answered "I guess we'll have to keep trying.." Serri stared at me and said "I'm not sure what you mean by that miss." I sighed. "I mean that the plan is over. All of this was to make sure he noticed me and elevated me to a very high rank because secretly, I'm a ruthless ambitious power hungry being."

They stared at me. I stared back. Eliza looked at Serri and asked him uncertainly "She's joking...right?" He took on the same blank expression I had and said seriously "I don't know if she's joking or not. But that was actually MY plan when I sent that report." She stared at him in shock for a few seconds, then stared at me. She suddenly grinned and pushed Serri and me into the the wall. "You think you're so funny don't you!" She exclaimed.

Serri and I looked at each other and grinned. Then we looked at Eliza and pushed her into the opposite wall. She laughed and said "Two against one no fair!" I pushed her back again and happily said "You think two against one is unfair? Try eight against 3. Now THAT was unfair for us. What about 3 against 1 back in the training room? That was unfair. For them!" Serri shoved me into the wall next to Eliza and warned "Don't get arrogant. You may be a good fighter but you don't even have a rank. Now can we please get to the hanger? No wandering off somewhere this time. Terrus if you want to kill anyone else, you let them come to you."

I grinned at him "Sorry to disappoint you Serri. We do in fact have one more stop to make." Eliza looked surprised and asked "We do? Where?"

I smiled at her and answered "The Pool. We're going to pick up the newest addition to our team."


	6. Chapter 5: Exploring our differences

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 5: Exploring our differences

Hork-Bajir Homeworld-Training facility 790-Exact current location-Pool-30 minutes later

The three of us "stepped" out of the air lift and onto solid ground. Serri looked at me and Eliza and said "The sooner we find Heyo, the sooner we can get to the hanger. He'll have a new host so start looking around and shouting his name every few seconds. There's your orders. Have fun and don't get in any fights. And don't fall off the edge into the wilderness or you're dead. That's a long drop." I glared at him and sarcastically said "You give such good orders! You're the greatest at giving advice! Let's get going already!" He slashed half heartedly at me. I dodged easily and laughed. He glared back at me. "So impatient..If Eliza gets in any trouble help her out. Eliza, if Terrus gets in any trouble feel free to point and laugh. Are those better orders?" I smiled and answered "Not really.", then started wandering the left side of the Pool with Eliza, while Serri went on the right side.

After a few minutes of searching and shouting his name I began to think maybe we'd missed him. I stopped searching and stared out at the landscape. Eliza realized I wasn't with her anymore and came back over to me. "What are you thinking about?" She asked. I smiled and tried to put it into words. "We're going to be out there fighting soon. You know I look out there alot. Know what I've always thought when I look at it all? I think, oh it's beautiful. It's an amazing place. Really it is. I looked out there just now and didn't think that. I thought about who we'd be killing and which of us would probably die and where we'd go." She was silent for a few seconds before saying "I don't know what to tell you, except that maybe instead of thinking of it in such dark ways, think of it all as future good times. Think of it as adventure, not missions."

An unfamiliar voice behind us said "Yeah, where's your spirit of adventure Terrus?" We turned around and saw a 10 foot tall Hork-Bajir controller. I took a step back and almost went over the edge. I grinned up at him. "Hello Heyo. Nice host. Why not get a regular sized one?" He smiled a rare smile and replied "Well I'm going to be stuck on missions with you three. At least one of us has to be able to fight." Serris' voice suddenly came from behind Heyo. "You're the one who ran away from an 8 on 3 fight and then failed to kill Terrus in a 1 on 1 fight. If any of us has to be able to fight it should be her." Suddenly I'm the elite fighter? Okay. I was good. I admit that. But he was just throwing me out front like some offensive defense! Heyo turned around and looked down at Serri and said furiously "Maybe I couldn't kill her but do you want to see me kill you?" Serri took a step forward and raised his arms "I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT!"

Eliza and I looked at each other and I knew we were thinking the same thing: This will get ugly quickly. We moved between them. I took Serri while she took Heyo. "STAND DOWN SERRI!" I yelled. He tried moving me out of the way and I pushed him backwards. He came at me again, this time swinging his blades! I locked blades and tried reasoning with him "DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE DOING? YOU'RE ATTACKING ME! TERRUS! CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW! I REALLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO HURT YOU BUT IF YOU KEEP THIS UP I WILL! STAND DOWN!" I saw fear and horror in his eyes. He suddenly lowered his arms and stepped back. With Serri taken care of, I turned around to help Eliza. I shouldn't have bothered. Heyo was standing still, giving a death glare. Nobody said anything for a few minutes.

Eliza broke the silence "I know you two aren't fond of each other but this is a team. This is OUR team. We have to work together. For some of us it's for advancing through the ranks, for others it's simply staying alive. The reason doesn't matter. What matters is that your here. We don't all like each other. I get that. You can leave whenever you want. Nobody would stop you. You have a problem you really can't get over? Leave." Heyo didn't move. He was staring at her with..respect.

I looked at Serri for a long moment. "It's not easy joining a new team. You know that Serri. I know I made it very difficult for you and Eliza but we're okay now. It would be appreciated if you'd make an effort to make this team transition easier for Heyo. Even if that means just not talking to him at all. Eliza and I, this team, we don't need you two at each others throats. If this happens in a real combat situation we'll all be dead. Save it for the enemy. Understand?" He nodded at me.

I turned and looked at Heyo. "Do you understand this Heyo?" He just nodded at me too. Eliza looked between them and said "Shake hands." That was asking for trouble again. She looked at them both and repeated it. "Both of you shake ." Heyo and Serri stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. I wondered who would crack first. It turned out to be Serri. He walked over to Heyo and put his hand out. Heyo grabbed it and let go in a second. Eliza sighed. "I guess that'll have to do." Serri shot an angry look at her "Okay we have the newest member of our team, piece of filth though he is, can we go to the hanger NOW?" I kicked him and said "Yes. I want you and Heyo to watch yourselves though. I mean it."

The now four of us made our way back across the Pools perimeter to the lift. Heyo and Serri didn't say a word to each other which I was fine with. Eliza..I wasn't sure if she was fine with it. I cast a sideways glance at her, she sent me back a smile and whispered "I'm glad they aren't trying to kill each other anymore but I'd love it if they would at least TRY to get along or make small talk or something! All this silence and glaring between them is making me worry." I smiled at her and laughed. "Don't be worried. I'm sure they'll get along real fast once all the missions start rolling, and the heads!" She gave me a look and asked seriously "Do you think we'll be able to keep them in line if that back there happens again? Without hurting them." I answered honestly "I don't know."

When we reached the lift I held up an arm to stop everyone. "Okay, I really don't want to have to walk forever through corridors and take lifts everywhere to get places. We're going to get to the hanger in a much faster way." My two friends, and Heyo, looked confused. "Look to the right of the lift, directly on line with the sun. Then look all the way down." I instructed. Am I really the only person who thought of this? Realization dawned on Heyo first. He was outraged "You're insane! You want us to jump all the way down there? I don't know if you noticed but we aren't all seemingly invincible like you! If we jump and, assuming we even land on a ship down there, or the landing pad, all of us will be splattered Horks. I'm not doing it. I'd rather walk for hours than jump to my death. Maybe that's how you do it here on your team, but not on mine. MY team wasn't crazy."

Serri glanced at Heyo and said quietly "You joined this team. Whatever we do, you do now too." Heyo looked at him and replied just as quietly "I didn't know I was going to have to kill myself on this team..." Serri seemed to be trying not to grin. He looked away. I looked at Eliza, silently asking, did you catch that? She smiled and nodded in answer. She told Heyo "We wouldn't be splattered Horks. Not if we climb down the base wall with our blades." She turned to me and grinned "That is what you mean isn't it?" I feinged anger "Of course that's what I meant!And I'm not invincible by the way. I just have endless luck." Serri shook his head and said "No. You have endless skill!" Heyo muttered "Trying to get on her good side.." Serri heard, I could see he was angry. I silently willed him not to do anything stupid. To my relief, and everyone elses, he seemed to let the comment pass. To me he said "I hate to agree with Heyo, but I'd rather walk than climb. Sorry to ruin your lifes ambition miss."

Okay I'm glad they agreed on SOMETHING but did it have to be on not to pursue my dream of descending the base exterior? I was just a little bit annoyed. Only a little. "Eliza," I said "You agree with them? Walk rather than have FUN climbing?" She avoided meeting my eyes for a split second "I agree with them. Don't worry though, you'll get to experience that dream someday! I know it." I smiled. I'll never understand how she can be so positive. So confident. So SURE I'd get to do that someday. My eyes skimmed over each of them. I took four steps and was inside the lift. They followed suit. I mentally sighed. I'm leaving a dream behind and moving forward into a nightmare. Just before descending, Serri asked me "We're done here?" I wondered what he meant. Here the Pool? Here our training?  
>I just said "We're done here. Everywhere else, we're just getting started." Heyo sarcastically said "Great!"<br>Eliza smiled at me. "Let's get started then."


	7. Chapter 6: Introductions

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 6: Introductions

Me, Eliza, Serri and Heyo walked down the line of vessels. I didn't know about the others, but I was completely unimpressed, and I was making sure everyone knew it. "They're just ships. Ships and more ships. A bug fighter here, a freighter over there, oh what's that? A cruiser docked beneath us even? So fascinating so amazing it's like..like we've NEVER seen this before at all!" We kept on walking and I kept talking until finally Serri got sick of it "What is the matter with you Terrus? You never act like this! Either shut up or explain what's going on." I stared at him innocently and said "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm acting like myself." He just laughed and replied, exasperatedly "No you're not! You haven't even asked about the weapons or what kind of damage they can do or any of the normal things you'd talk about! So what's your problem miss?"

Our group stopped moving and I stared at the ships. I remembered the very brief flight simulations and scenarios. Every single time I died. I shivered slightly and he noticed. "Miss? You aren't scared are you?" I cursed myself for my reaction. He stared at me intently, as did Heyo and Eliza. I stared at the ground like there was something interesting there. What a darkap, just asking me flat out. I like it when he's blunt but not when it's directed at me! Unable to stand the staring I looked up and said softly "I'm scared yes. I'm scared of flying. I'm scared of crashing and burning and I'm scared of losing any of you during the crashing and burning. I wouldn't be anywhere without you."

I was expecting Eliza to say something profoundly comforting. She always knows how to make things right again. The comforting comment, however, came not from Eliza, but from Heyo. He met my eyes and said "I'm scared of you but I don't avoid you. I'm working with you..you're scared of flying, so work with it." I smiled and replied "Thank you for the advice, and telling me that you're scared of me." He seemed to zone out for a few seconds before saying "It's not really you that I'm scared of. I'm scared of who you remind me of. She's like eight of you and she was nearly impossible to get away from..." I was about to ask who "she" was but was interrupted by an unknown Hork-Bajir controller approaching us. We all turned to look at him and he said cryptically "Visser 25. All of you are ordered to see him. Follow me."

As he led us through the base, I tried to get more information out of him every few minutes. But I might as well have been talking to a corpse. He didn't speak at all until we reached the dracon scorched hallway to the training room. "All entrances will be closed and locked when you're inside." I glanced into the training room, hoping Visser 25 wasn't in there, and that this was a setup, but nobody lies about Visser 25 and his orders unless they want to die. The four of us entered the room and walked to the center. I looked around for the Visser, but found him nowhere. Maybe this IS a setup!

That thought died a second later when I saw him back flip off the overwatch balcony to land in the middle of us. What an impressive sight..If I hadn't already done nearly the same thing an hour earlier. The Visser moved his cold stare over us and said in a voice equally cold "You're no doubt wondering why you're here. Due to your..unexpected unauthorized recruitment of Heyo 222, your team functionality needs to be reassessed. Since you four have been fighting live Yeerks all day I decided to personally put together a very special scenario to test you."

I didn't like the grin he gave. I didn't like how he was keeping us all off guard. I REALLY didn't like the sight of 4 Hork-Bajir controllers jumping down one after another to land behind the Visser. Three of them had regular sized hosts. Though they were heavily muscled males. My gaze travelled to the fourth Hork-Bajir, a short 5 foot female. Easy kill. Eliza just stared in surprise. Serri laughed for about 10 seconds until the small female gave him a look of disgust which shut him up in a heartbeat. Heyo gave a sharp intake of breath and gaped down at her. She looked up at him and gave a grin that seemed both very friendly and VERY predatory. She spoke very quietly, almost a whisper. "Hello Heyo. It's good to see you again too. Darling did you really think you could escape me that easily?" There was nothing but sincerity and kindness in her voice and her looks. It was so very at odds with..if this was the right person..then it was all at odds with her fierce spirit.

Heyo actually stumbled backwards a few steps and tripped on his own tail, which only got Serri laughing again. Heyo glanced at the little female and stuttered out "Desha? I never tried to.. to escape you I just wanted to..to join a..i mean..." She took one small step forward, he flinched and she smiled. Serri was laughing so hard I thought he'd die. Maybe we'll all get lucky and he will die! I glared at him but he didn't stop. Abandoning the glare approach, I kicked him in the stomach, he fell back and STILL kept laughing at Heyo's predicament. I'm going to kill him if I ever get left alone with him for 5 seconds even. Eliza was amused by it all but didn't seem to know who to help, me or Heyo. Visser 25 gave Serri a very disappointed look and said "Don't make me regret promoting you." Serri stopped laughing really quickly.

The Visser spoke, and all eyes went to him. "Now that the reunion and the introductions that I so graciously allowed are out of the way...There will be two simple facilities on either end of the floor. They will have two levels. There will be a main entrance in the front, defended by two dracon cannons to either side of that entrance. On the roof there will be one dracon cannon that will fire down into the field between your simulated bases. There will be many barriers you may use as cover in the field. Behind each base there will be a small shield generator. Disable it to gain entrance. Inside the base on the first level there will be three rooms. One room contains training weapons. Another room will have a data terminal with which to monitor the simulated battlefield. The third room will be a lift to the second level. The second level is one room. In the center will be your primary objective. A smooth metal sphere. You must recover it from your opposing teams facility and take it to your own. There are two ways you can end the round, you need to place it on the scanner in your teams terminal room, or if every member of a team is disabled. There will be no killing. There will be 10 rounds and no time limit to succeed. However, you will have 10 minutes before each round starts to plan and weapon up. Remember that the strength of a team is every individual, and the strength of every individual is their team. Team number one is: Serri 481, Eliza 388, Terrus 5633 and Heyo 222. Team number two is comprised of: Desha 609, Zani 214, Zani 2144, and Kamia 752 Understood?"

Everyone chorused "Yes Visser!". The Visser shook a claw up at the control booth, and the battlefield rose up.

10 minutes. 10 minutes and NOTHING WAS PLANNED. Eliza and I planned. Heyo and Serri disagreed with everything Eliza and I said but didn't agree with each other either. I had twin dracon beams, Eliza had only one. Serri and Heyo were carrying dracon rifles. I heard the "Round Begin" from the announcement systems and the four of us got behind the barriers closest to our base and waited. I had chosen the furthest left barrier. Part of my plan with Eliza. I peeked around the side of it and saw nobody. That didn't mean anything. I looked at Heyo, who was behind the barrier directly right of me, and I whispered "Heyo? I'm going to move left, you go-" Heyo completely ignored me, ran out from behind his barrier. I watched from the safety of mine as he made a mad dash straight for the base. I sighed and muttered "Or you can just run out, do whatever you want and then get killed.."

What a DARKAP! He was fast but not faster than the cannons. I saw him take 3 hits to the chest, and get blasted backward. Half a minute in and we were already down a soldier! I looked over at the heap on the ground behind me that was a paralyzed and slightly burnt Heyo. His eyes locked onto mine. I shook my head at him and said "You DARKAP! That's what you get! I'm not helping you get anywhere. I think I'll leave you to be stepped on."

Forgetting Heyo, I rolled quickly over to hide behind his barrier. I saw Eliza stick her claw out and quickly fire the dracon beam at the cannon on the roof, hitting the disabling point dead on. It powered down. I stared at Eliza. "When did you become such a good shot?" She just smiled and shrugged at me. I saw one of our enemies sneaking up behind her with a dracon beam! I pointed behind her, she turned and he fired at her weapon arm. She used her still working arm to try to grab his weapon but he fired at that arm too, then he fired 3 quick blasts at her head. Eliza went down and didn't get up.

While I'd been watching her he'd taken advantage of it. I saw it slowly, as I often did at times in combat, I saw him squeezing the trigger, I dived to the right exactly when he fired, but I suffered a hit on my left arm. My dracon beam I had been holding fell out of my now useless claw. I ignored the pain and I brought my right arm up and fired with the second dracon beam, hitting him in the chest. He fell forward flat on his face. I wasn't done with him yet though. I dashed over to him and flipped him over with my foot. I crouched down over him and looked him in the eyes. I told him quietly "This is for doing that to Eliza." I deliberately pressed my dracon beam against his arm and fired. He tried not to grunt in pain. I laughed at him and did it to his other arm. He couldn't help but cry out in pain a bit. "Not quite there yet are we? Let's fix that" I said.

I pressed the dracon beam to his chest this time and stared into his eyes. I let him KNOW what I was doing and what I was going to do. I let him fear it. I put my face close to his and whispered "I'm going to make you scream this time." I smiled and fired 5 quick times, point blank at his chest. He screamed very loudly and I pulled my face away from his and stood. I glanced around quickly to see if any other enemies were coming. Seeing none, I looked down at the helpless Yeerk. He was still screaming. I looked at Eliza, who still wasn't moving.

The Yeerk kept screaming. I stared down at him coldly. "Shut up". I told him. I fired point blank at his face.


	8. Chapter 7: Serious Competition

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 7: Serious Competition

I left the now quiet controller lying where he was. Regrettably, I left Eliza where she was. I advanced across the battlefield, always staying behind the barriers. Where was Serri? Where were the other three enemies? Now behind the last row of barriers infront of the enemy facility, I calmed myself and tried to plan. Two dracon cannons mere feet away from me. It will be tough to take them out at this close range. Three enemies running around, either hunting me and Serri, wherever he is! Or liesurly strolling into our base behind me and taking the stupid sphere. Or both! Either way we lose the first round horribly! I suddenly felt a claw on my shoulder, I turned and brought my dracon beam up to fire. Recognizing who it was, I lowered my weapon and smiled.

"Serri! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOU DARKAP?" He glared at me and whispered furiously "Yes it's me keep your voice down! Where have I been? I've been trying to find you! At the beggining of the round I decided to stay out of sight and watch our foes. I snuck back to our facility and found Heyo and Eliza down. On my way back over this way I ran into one of the Zani twins and took him out."

Wonderful. Me and Serri still active on our team, Desha and Kamia still active on theirs. I felt a bit hopeful. Maybe we could still be victorious. I whispered back "I only have one working arm right now. Don't worry, I have a plan-" He interrupted and said "Terrus wait. This plan of yours doesn't involve me being cannon bait does it? I saw what it did to Heyo which didn't look very fun. Also, Desha is a cruel sadistic freak. She slashed Kamia up pretty badly when he told her he couldn't find me or you."

I flinched at the cruel and sadistic comment. "Nevermind that. Let's just get these cannons down, get that shield generator down, get inside the base and take the stupid sphere from them. You stick an arm out, let the cannons target it and I'll take quick shots at their disable points, and before you say, oh well why can't you do that miss? I'm going to say this, I already have one none functioning arm you darkap. This way between the two of us we'll have two working arms," I grinned "Except your arm is going to hurt alot more than mine does."

He glared and then shoved me against the barrier and held me there. He leaned in close and said "I'll go through more than a little pain to win. We ARE going to win, no matter what."

I stayed where I was and said calmly "I don't think Eliza would-" He pulled me forward and then slammed me back against the barrier. I was more shocked than hurt. I was also confused. Do I REALLY not want to do everything and anything to win? This isn't even about winning anyway it's about seeing how well we function as a team, winning is just a focus point! "If you're thinking we're going to win no matter what then I suppose Desha and her team are too." I gave him a grin and asked "Have you ever noticed how much time you spend with your claws on me?"

A soft and quiet voice coming not from behind Serri or me, but from ABOVE US said "Do you two ever realize how much time you spend talking?" Serri and I looked up and saw Desha standing atop the barrier. I hadn't even heard her get up there! In that second, she jumped down, I pushed Serri back as well as threw myself to the side simultaniously. I held on tightly to my dracon beam. I heard her blades clash with the metal floor, I glanced at Serri and saw him on his feet, blades raised, ready to fight. In that same split instant I realized something: I was lying on my RIGHT side, not behind the barrier, and the infantry dracon cannons were still functional!

I heard the whirring sound of the cannons swivelling to target me and saw Serri and Desha charge each other. I scrambled to my feet as the cannons began firing and dive rolled towards the closest one, then brought my dracon beam up and fired at the disable point.

I crouched behind the disabled cannon and waited three seconds. Cannon number two went back to stand by, as it had lost its' target. I quickly vaulted over my offline cannon and lazily fired off a shot at cannon number two, shutting it down before it even fired. My arm still oustretched, I looked over to my right and saw Serri and Desha in a furious blade fight, moving out from behind the barriers.

I lowered my arm, started over to them and felt a sudden crushing pressure on my tail. I whipped my head around and saw an unarmed Hork Bajir controller who could only be Kamia, and he was standing on my tail! "Bad move on your part Kamia. Off the tail and I'll show you mercy." He took another step forward on my tail and said furiously "Show me mercy? Like you showed Zani mercy?" Take another step you darkap. Take one more step..

Out loud I replied quietly "Exactly like that..." Final step. I twisted completely around and jerked my tail out from under him, causing him to fall. He slashed at my legs as he went down. I took three quick steps back and just watched him as he got up. He shook his head and said "Basic trick. I fell for it." I grinned and replied "I'm afraid you just aren't up to the Vissers expectations. Or mine." He grinned back and threw a glance at Serri and Desha as their fight brought them ever closer to us."Allow me to change that." He said as he brought his arms up in the typical combat-ready stance.

I laughed and dropped my dracon beam, then raised my right arm and held it, blades outward, across my torso. "Be my guest." he swung in from the left, I blocked easily and shoved him back a few steps. I grabbed his right arm as he slashed, he went to cut my arm off with his left wrist blades but I twisted myself around him, bringing his arm around with me. Instead of moving his body around and slashing again like I'd expected him to, he took a couple steps back, I resisted but he just kept moving with me and slammed us both backwards against a cannon, jarring me loose. I stood there stupidly, dazed from the impact. So he doesn't just have strength, he also knows how to use it!

Free of me now, he rushed forward to get my weapon still laying on the ground. Move Terrus! MOVE! He reached the dracon beam, I still couldn't move! What is going on? Kamia leveled the dracon beam at me. I heard a voice in my head, one I hadn't heard in a long long time scream ‹GAFERACH YEERK!› My senses regained, and my control, I felt something from this Hork-Bajir. Hope. I let it know I was "back" and poured a stream of violent memories at it. I pushed its' mind down.

I saw Desha slash both Serris legs, blood poured out and she shot him as he went down. Kamia fired at me, I was still too disturbed by what had just happened to move. I didn't even notice I was down until my..the Hork Bajirs..head hit the ground. Again, the Hork-Bajir rose up in my mind and said happily ‹Gafrash. Message. Time soon Yeerk. HRUTHIN. HRUTHIN KILL YEERKS. BRING MORE HRUTHIN. KILL ALL YEERKS. SOON›

I heard the Vissers voice ring out across the floor. "Round one over."


	9. Chapter 8: Actions Are Louder Than Words

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 8: Actions are louder than words

Both teams were lined up infront of the Visser, everyone healed and out of their paralized states. I stood on the very left end. Needless to say, the Visser was infuriated and disappointed: With MY team. I didn't care. I couldn't stop thinking back to seven minutes ago. Andalites are going to attack soon? Should I say something? No..It was the word of a pathetic almost brainless being. Nothing it ever said, even were it NOT my host, could ever be taken seriously. I am an overlord, a rightful heir to the universe. By default a conqueror. IT is nothing compared to me! NOTHING! Fellanna. Yeerk help Reg Tanna

In spite of myself, I decided to talk to it. IF Andalites are going to attack, IF this thing is right, I won't regret breaking protocol. I'll be forgiven. If it isn't true, nobody will ever know of this. Except maybe Serri and Eliza. I can trust them. I'm burning curiosity anyway. How am I helping you Reg? I demanded. It was all too happy to reply Yeerk thinks not tell Visser. Not warn Visser. Fellanna Yeerk..Yeerk not see Regs thoughts? Not tell what Reg thinks?

I don't need to see your thoughts or memories. You're nothing of interest to me. Reg is now. Still why not see Regs thoughts? Why question Reg Tanna? I'm not in the habit of reading every little thought you have. Why do you think Andalites will attack? Hruthin left Hork-Bajir long time. Left Hork-Bajir to Yeerks. Yeerks killed Hork-Bajir..killed with smoke long time before. Hruthin come back now. Kill Yeerks. Free Hork-Bajir. Hruthin tell Reg before Reg stolen again, will help in time. Yeerks Pool..ship..Hruthin help when shows. Andalites will attack our Pool ships when they come to take the fresh out of training Yeerks to other planets? They told you that before you became my host? Reg thinks Yeerk DARKAP. Not know this. Not see Reg thoughts. Reg hide them from darkap Yeerk.

I was from replying by being rudely brought out of the depths of my mind. "Terrus 5633 respond this instant or I will kill you." That was the visser, who had his blade pressed to my neck. Everyone else was trying (and failing) to look as if they weren't paying attention.  
>I brought my now both working arms up faster than he could react, grabbed his arm with mine, then caught his huge wrist blade between my three arm blades and broke it off. I lowered my arms and stepped back just as quickly. I heard Eliza laugh and say from somewhere down the line to my right "She definetely responded." and I heard Serri lightheartedly tell her to be quiet.<p>

Desha and her team started to break form, presumably to help the Visser, but he stopped them with a glance. Desha apologized and they went back to their places. The Visser returned his attention to me and said "You may have completed your training but there are a few things you still need to learn. Respect. Obedience. You need to be unquestioning." I couldn't help it. I was angry which caused me to say "Is there any set date for those? Because I want to ask you one thing Visser. Are there any Andalite ships near this planet? Any Andalites on the surface?" Everyone hissed and gasped.

The Visser stared holes through me and answered "Four months ago there was a small Andalite force but it was taken down by our ship based dracon cannons and fighters...None survived."

I really couldn't stop myself from questioning him even more. "Are you certain Visser? One or two couldn't have survived and sent a message to an Andalite fleet and warned the Hork-Bajir-" He swung his left blade faster than I ever thought he could and laterally cut my chest wide open and my?..my blood gushed out everywhere, the pain was incredibly unendurable. I felt myself growing weaker already and I fell on my side, barely holding myself up. The Visser kicked me over onto my back and said "That kind of talk is treason." The line broke up and the teams took up sides behind the Visser and I.

I looked up at him as I lay there and said spitefully "The only real treasonous act here is you not wanting to let a loyal Yeerk kill Andalites."

The Visser stomped on my open wound and ground his talons around, making me even more of a wreck. "You think yourself better than me?"

My Distractions looked at me, then looked at the Visser. I knew they were asking if they should stop him. I so badly wanted to yes. I wanted this pain to stop. I wanted them to kill him for me. To save me. But no. I'm NOT weak. I can get out of this myself. I shook my head. No.

I pushed the Vissers leg off me and pressed my arms over my injury. Using all my strength, and my tail to balance and support myself, I stood up. I grinned and choked out through my blood "I KNOW I'm better than you, Visser."

The Visser was so angry that he seemed to be restraining himself from literally ripping my head off. "You are an insolent fool, Terrus 5633." He sliced me three more times across the chest and pushed me down in the time it took for me to raise my arms and try to block.

I need to get out of the host before it dies. I felt myself losing control, I felt the oblivion, I felt death rushing through every single part of the body and the brain as I detached from it as fast as I could. Seconds later I was completely detached, I moved through hole in the skull and the ear canal to the opening. I squeezed myself through it and fell on the floor and experienced..It was as if the whole universe was shaking! Were they fighting? Moments later it all stopped and I felt a huge pressure envelope me, like being trapped in a way too small ramonite box, and for the life of me I didn't dare try to move for a long, long time.

I don't know how much time passed. At some point the all emcompassing pressure vanished and was replaced by a "small" liquid environment. I'm in a portable Yeerk Pool! When I get a new host I need to find out about the Andalites. I am going to, with or without the help of my team. I'll prove the Visser wrong. He IS wrong. Andalites are here. I waited in the Pool for an agonizingly long time. I NEED a body, right now. The longer I'm here the longer I'm not out there looking for the Andalites and killing them. I emitted auditory pulses and to my delight I discovered that there was a host waiting for me!

I eagerly entered the ear canal, I was so excited about the opportunity to initiate my self conceived mission and to see my friends again that I didn't even remember to dull the infestees pain as I "drilled" through its' bone and tissues to get to its' brain!

I didn't even take any pleasure in taking control of the host. Sound came in and sight flicked on like activating a video feed on a computer terminal screen. I raised my head and I instantly took in everything. The first thing I noticed was my two friends and Heyo standing infront of me. They had no dracon weapons, but Serri was holding a deactivated handheld holocomputer. Reassured that I was "safe", I examined everything else. I was in a small storage room, I didn't know if the PP (Portable Pool) had been stored here or if it was moved here for my exclusive use now. I didn't know where in the base I was, as there were dozens upon dozens of these little rooms off from the hallways and other larger rooms. Some specific and some not.

This one contained...everything. Ten or so one use only KPEs(Kandrona Particle Emitters) lining a wall, three full crates of cells (Dracon weapon ammo), a small opaque metal container sitting on the floor beside the crates with six handheld computers stacked inside, three HK spheres (Hunter/Killers), another small container filled to the brim with KCs (killing cylinders), a large see through case held four dracon rifles, four dracon beams and what looked like five spherical explosives. To top all of this off, to my utter delight I noticed three ground skimmers in the very back of the room leaning against the wall.

With some difficulty I brought my attention back to my friends. We stared for a couple of seconds. I was enjoying the suspense, the expectant silence. I decided to break it by asking "Who was the one carrying me?" Eliza smiled, which was all the answer I needed. I smiled back and addressed to Serri. "What part of the base are we in smart one?"

He grinned at that "Well miss, we are currently on floor fifty six, third hall from the lifts and seven doors down the hall. You may also need a reminder that we're in Yeerk base/Training Facility 790. Or maybe you want me to tell you my name next?"

"Shut up you darkap. What happened when I was out of my host? I know we ran but did we get chased too? Are we wanted now?" I need to know EVERYTHING and he's taking too long to answer me! I met eyes with Heyo "What happened there?", I asked.  
>Heyo spoke up finally "We got in a good fight with Desha and her team, Visser 25 hung back. When Eliza picked you up the Visser didn't stop us from leaving and he told Desha to let us go." He paused before saying maliciously "Don't ever mention Andalites around me or I'll do what he did to you but worse. Andalites are nothing but betrayers, liars, and murderers. What I hate worst of all is how they walk all over everyone, throwing their hooves around like they rule everything, and that they HELPED US and now they want to just take it all back and KILL .ONE OF US."<p>

Nobody had anything to say to that. Even I can't help him with that. It's true.

I pushed him back "Visser 25 hung back and let his team fight for him? Who does that remind me of...Get used to Andalites being mentioned. We're going on a little adventure once we get this whole rooms contents put inside a bug fighter. We're going to find Andalites."

My friends exchanged looks. Eliza said hesitantly "Well Terrus we..we don't exactly know what happened with you or why you're obssessed with Andalites now. We need to know what's really going on before we go off on our own together."

OBSSESSED? OBSSESSED? I spoke of Andalites for more than twenty seconds so I'm obssessed? "My host, before it died of course, gained control for a few seconds and it felt hopeful. Confident. It told me that for a brief time it was escaped and it spoke to Andalites on the planet who told it that they would attack the two Pool ships. The ones that transport the masses off planet every eight months. That day is today."

Serri, always the logical one, waved his holocomputer at me said "One, The host didn't escape from here or we would have heard about it. Two, Hosts get moved between bases all the time. Maybe yours escaped from another base and met the Andalites, then was recaptured. Three, I don't see how they could possibly attack and destroy the Pool ships. When you were in the Portable Pool I took a look at the ship cannons targets list for this base from four months ago and combined it with reports from some of our pilots. Here."

He activated the computer and clicked on a file, then held it out infront of us. It seemed to be a recreation of the aformentioned battle. Twenty Andalite starfighters and four freighter class vessels were shown flying towards the planet, all seemed calm until four ship cannon rounds flew up from the planet, all hit and vaporized unsuspecting starfighters. We all watched, completely absorbed by the progressing battle. The other ships all high tailed it down to the planet, still weaving and swerving around the cannon rounds. After a minute the scene changed to show the ships scattering and flying through the trees while being chased by bug fighters. I noted that two of the freighters were only disabled and they crashed onto the planet, relatively intact.

I shook myself out of a trance when the file stopped playing. "Nice show. I'd like to know why they were only shot down. I take it you know where those two freighters crashed?"

He gave me a grin "Of course I do miss. So we're going to defy the Empire to save it?"

He'll never stop being a darkap. I should kill him now. "We aren't defying anything. None of us here have any orders, no missions to complete as given by any superiors. And don't think we're 'saving' anything either. The only thing this team is doing is investigating the strange circumstances and the crash sites and contents of enemy ships."

"What about the Pool ships and all the Yeerks?" Eliza asked. I was getting impatient again. I went over and opened the weapons case and picked up the dracon beams. I threw my friends each one. I looked them all in the eyes. "If this is true, we'll be forgiven and elevated beyond our dreams. If we find and kill or infest the Andalites. We'll save countless Yeerk lives. It will only take this one team to bring them down. The most likely possibility is that they'd go for sabatoge. Infiltration. That's how these things will go about destroying the Pool ships. If this isn't true and there really is nothing going on, then there's no harm, you won't regret the adventure, and we can all just watch the masses board the Pool ships at the end of the day and roam the universe that rightly belongs to them, then we stay and do whatever it is we do. Are you in, Serri?"

Serri dropped his holocomp and grabbed a clawful of cells from the crate next to me "You never had to ask miss. Eliza, will you be joining us?"

She gave him a smile "Only to save lives. Others AND our own." I can keep goals in mind. This team is going to save lives, go up ranks, and I'm personally going to get back at the Visser. Everybody wins. This day hasn't been so bad after all.

But..There's still one more person I have to convince. "Heyo, are you willing to stick with the team and not abandon us when it would be convenient for you? This is going to be your first true personal test." He glared at me and said "I know you see me as a coward and a selfish darkap. You're right. But there's more than a few things keeping me with you three."

I smiled. Perfect. "I always believed in you-" I stared past my friends as the door opened behind them. They froze. A Gedd controller walked clumsily into the room carrying a holocomputer, not appearing to notice us until he ran right into the back of Eliza. She spun around and went to decapitate the fool but I rushed forward and grabbed her by the forearm. Unfortunately I didn't have four other arms so I couldn't stop Serri or Heyo. Both turned and swung a wrist blade at the same exact time, one cutting the poor darkap in half at his torso, the other slicing clean through the gut. The Gedd fell in three distinct pieces, each with their own pool of blood and innards, with the holocomputer in the center of the gore triangle.

Now that the threat was dead (If Gedd can even be called 'threats') I let go of Eliza. Everyone stared at the Gedd, not sure what to do BESIDES stare at the thing. Poor darkap. Poor poor darkap. That's what you get. Say or do the wrong thing, be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you end up dead. This could have been me. No chance of escaping the host. I stepped forward and picked up the gore stained holocomp and activated it. A massive list appeared. "Inventory" I stated obviously. More to take attention off the butchered controller than anything else.

I reorganized the list to the most recent 'take outs' as we called it whenever items were missing from storage rooms. Four of everything gone from..nowhere? "How long has it been since I was forced to leave my host?" I asked no-one in particular. Eliza, still staring at the Gedd, answered me quietly "One hour. Why? Did you find something off in the list?" I didn't answer her right away. Instead I tried to find more information on the missing items. I found nothing. I hissed in frustration and threw the holocomp down at the Gedds' chest. "I found SOMETHING odd. Four of everything in the arsenal are missing as of half an hour ago and it doesn't say WHO took the items OR from where it's all missing. Serri? Stop reloading your weapon and tell me something intelligent that would explain this."

"Gladly miss," He said as he threw a cell at me. "Given the time frame and it being four of everything. It could be coincidence...Or it could be Desha and her team already geared up and out there visiting the crash sites and looking for the supposedly alive Andalite bandits." It means the Visser thinks I'm right!

Eliza went over to Serri and swiped a few cells from his claw. "This isn't just some competition. Actual lives are at stake this time." Instead of pushing her back or playfully hitting her like I expected him to, he took one step closer and offered her more cells "I'm aware of that liz." Heyo barked out a laugh and I just stared. They both seemed to realize they were being watched and Eliza stepped away while Serri stole the cells back that he'd just given her.

Heyo told Eliza with a grin "You should probably get your ammo out of the crates from now on." She did as he'd said and started reloading her weapon from the crate, her back to Serri. I still just stared.

Serri threateningly waved his dracon beam at Heyo "Darkap. I will dracon beam your face off if you ever make a joke about liz an-" He realized he'd said it again and wisely decided to just shut up, but that didn't stop Heyo from laughing at him more. What in the universe is going on here? I got my senses back and went over to the skimmers. Passing Heyo on the way over to them, I whispered to him with a slight grin "I think you'll fit in just fine."

I kept my back to the others and took one of the skimmers off the wall to examine it. A thick slab of metal in the shape of an oval. Two shields that come up over the feet to hold the user in place. Two thrusters beneath it. I like this design the most.

Not knowing if it would even work, I set it on the floor infront of me and seperated the wrist control pad from it and attached it to the top of my arm alongside my right wrist blades. Just like training. I tapped on the control pad and the screen moved up so it was sitting vertically on my wrist. Three green holo circles appeared on the screen along with one red triangular symbol beneath them and a blue square. Three circles..Three digits. Blue square is foot shields. I tapped the button twice and watched the shields come up and go back down. Perfect. I lined up my claws with the green circles, turned around to face my friends and with my thumb I pressed the red symbol slowly and deliberately.

My friends stopped arguing about whatever they were arguing about (I wasn't paying any attention to them, as I often didn't) and stared at me as the thrusters turned on and the skimmer lifted off the ground behind me. I slid the middle circle up slowly and when I saw the skimmer in the edge of my vision I moved the circle back to line up with the other two. I grinned and pulled the righthand circle in its own direction across the screen, turning the skimmer to face towards my friends.

Serri waved his dracon beam at me and said "Good work miss. I didn't think you even payed attention to Coren." He smiled and added, "And It's good to know you're intelligent. That was sort of in question." Darkap. I won't kill him but I'm certainly going to show his miserable self there's a point where I don't take his joking insults lightly. I stealthily pulled the left circle outward and grinned at him. "I'm glad I'm up to standards in the intelligence area. I think it's you who's in question though." He glared and said arrogantly "I'm the smartest one here. Don't underutilize me." Darkap.

I pushed the middle circle straight up and watched as it sped towards him. Eliza and Serri jumped in opposite directions to avoid the thing and Heyo was laughing himself to death again. Eliza was grinning which was a sharp contrast to Serri, who was looking like he'd kill me. I was getting sick of Heyo laughing. I held out my hand to Serri and he threw me his dracon beam. I glanced at Heyo to be sure he wasn't paying attention. Good. The darkap is still laughing. I put the dracon beam to stun and fired across the storage room, hitting him dead in the face. He dropped like a ramonite box. Eliza shouted "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Serri on the other hand looked like he'd been made Visser one! I frowned at Eliza, and gave Serri a quick grin. All I said was "I'm getting sick of Heyo."


	10. Chapter 9: Flight of Consequence

**Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 9: Flight of consequence**

Current location:** Modified bug fighter/cargo vessel** en route to **Andalite crash site**

(**_Kindly written from the point of view of Eliza 388_**, _**Who offered me her view of the events.**_)

I was just sitting there in the back of the bug fighter, hidden among the crates and equipment,messing with an HK and watching Serri sitting in his chair and piloting the ship. I enjoy watching him. He's very smart and not afraid to run away from a fight if it means victory in the long run. But I don't mean he's a coward, far from it. He hardly ever gets truly angry except when provoked and one of the most..he's a bit arrogant and I won't shy from saying I like that about him.

There's something between him and I, something more than just our friendship. There's always been something more with us. I just didn't recognize it until he... Anyway, I was enjoying watching Terrus and Heyo distracting themselves with the two, yes TWO, weapons stations. They're friends but sometimes we're all a little rough with each other, especially Heyo and Serri.

Serri and Heyo have a rivalry. They have since the first time our teams competed during training. I've had to seperate them a few times now. If you ask me how I feel about my team, well I'm a bit TOO caring. Don't read me wrong, I CAN be harsh at times. One such time was an hour ago in the storage room. Terrus shot Heyo unconcious because he was annoying her and I shouted at her for that.

I don't mean to say that I'm scared of Terrus. I'm just wary around her. She's young and a very skilled fighter, but she's reckless and impulsive and impatient and yes, even a little cruel at times...Yet she's also my best friend. She's supportive and nice and funny and I'm the same towards her as well as to everyone else. The single fact that we're best friends makes up for everything that's happened, and everything that will happen.

Eliza 388 is my name, and I'm what most would call a peace-keeper. But I'm not afraid to fight when I have to. "Eliza. Liz?" I looked up to see Heyo towering over me. _He'll never let this nickname thing go_.

I gave him a smile to let him know I wasn't upset and asked "What do you want this time?" He grinned and lazily sliced the air with his wrist blades. "Liz? It's cute." I take joy in every second of life, so I wasn't about to take away HIS joy. "I'm glad you find my nickname cute but you don't need to keep commenting on it..Unless you're infatuated with me as well."

"There's times when I think the darkap is infatuated with ME." Terrus said as she came over to stand next to him. She was shaking, she'd been shaking since we first boarded. Serri dropping the ship off the landing platform on take off (The thrusters were faulty) didn't help her feel any better.

I smiled at her and said "If any of us die first in a crash it'll be Heyo." Of course I don't mean that. Heyo switched his glare between the two of us. "Well if this ship is hit and a part of the wall is destroyed and I happen to be the only one about to be sucked out, I'll grab Terrus on the way."

I put down the HK and stood up. I smiled at them both and said "If you grab Terrus on the way out, I'll hold on to _both of you_ until the crash landing."

Terrus growled and stated "I _never_ need saving. I always have things under control."

I laughed and put a hand on her shoulder as I went past them to the front of the ship. "Of course." I said quietly.

Reaching Serri, I just stood next to him for a few seconds and looked through the viewport at the trees going by and the blurry terrain beneath us.

_It's beautiful_. I glanced to my right at Serri. _Does he_- He looked over at me and grinned. "It's beautiful liz." _HOW?_ He stared at me for more seconds than somebody flying a ship should so I pointed foward out the viewport which caused him to mutter 'dapsen' and resumed his piloting. I grinned back but on the inside, I was conflicted. What does he_ really_ mean? The planet is beautiful? My host or..does he mean _me_?

Yeerk mean liz Hello Haran. He means me? Yes. Yeerk no like Haran. Obvious. Yeerk like yeerk I'm talking to you when I shouldn't be. But..Terrus spoke to her host to find out about the Andalites. She of all Yeerks spoke to her host so it's ok for me to be speaking to mine. He thought about that for a second before saying Yeerk Eliza speak to Haran for months Yes but I know it's acceptable now.

I pulled myself out of my mind and asked Serri "How long until we get to the first crash site?" He grinned and replied "Five minutes. But I believe you should be more interested in who else is there still, or will be there, or was already there," He paused, looked back at Heyo and Terrus and added quietly "_And_ where the crash site is located." I glanced over my shoulder at them too before saying "What are you telling me that you won't tell them? this is a team. Whatever it is, you HAVE to tell them."

The grin faded and he said quietly "The crash site we're going to is in the mists."

The mists. Full of genetic mutations created by the Arn to keep the..well, all Yeerks know of it, but nobody ever goes there anymore. Not since the massacre of the Arn. Too many Yeerks died in there._ Oh_. "I'll tell them."

_Terrus will be happy to have things to fight and kill. She won't worry so much about her fear of flying_. I turned around again and went back over to the back of the ship to tell them about the mists and was met with a terrible sight. Terrus and Heyo were fighting! I hurried over to them and stopped just outside striking distance. _This can't be happening now!_

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shouted. Terrus turned instantly towards me and Heyo slashed for her neck. I stepped forward and thrust my left arm out, catching his attack on my blades. "Both of you STOP." I told them. Terrus pushed me back and they resumed fighting.

The ship rocked and I heard Serri from behind me, still piloting, yell back "I hear yelling and the sounds of blades so whatever it is you three are doing you should _stop_ doing it. _Now_ isn't the best time!"

Once again I wondered what he really meant, and why the ship had rocked. I hadn't realized that the ships thrusters were much louder than..just before the ship had rocked! I darted around Terrus and grabbed a dracon beam, then stepped back and aimed. "Please stop. We're being chased and I don't want to do this. Whatever the issue is that caused you two to fight you can work it out without killing each other! I don't want to have to put you unconcious."

Heyo slashed Terrus in the leg and chest, knocked her off balance and took the next two seconds to turn towards me and slice off my left dracon holding claw. I growled and hissed from the pain, dim, but still it hurt enough to cry out. But no, it hadn't really been ME crying out. Haran think Yeerk Eliza kill Yeerk Heyo now

I was going to respond when the ship suddenly went completely sideways for two seconds and the three of us (and the equipment) flew left into the wall. The ship leveled out again and I glanced to the left, Serri flying, I looked to my right, Terrus and Heyo STILL going at each other! I heard Serri again "Somebody get on the undership beam controls now! I'm dodging their cannon rounds easily enough but their beam weapons are taking down the shields VERY quickly and I'm NOT dodging THEM easily. I don't want to speed up for fear of crashing into one of these darkap giant trees, which is funny because I'm using them for cover right now."

Who needs me more? Serri or them? Ship crash, all die. Haran said simply.  
>Thank you I said as I stumbled left to the front of the ship.<p>

I reached Serri and supported myself with his chair as he threw the ship into another violent turn. "SERRI! Those two are trying to kill each other back there! HEYO CUT OFF MY HAND!" Serri angled the ship up and I saw from the front viewport a tree branch three times bigger than the ship go by and felt it scrape the bottom of the vessel. An alarm sounded and Serri growled out "Hand loss, it'll grow back! Nevermind the undership beam weapons now! The darkap branch took off the turret!"

Despite the situation I smiled "I never payed attention to the ship weapons station usage anyway," I looked back again at the rear of the ship just long enough to confirm..they're still fighting. Right against the ship ramp. "Does this ship take voice commands or will I have to activate the observational panels myself?"

The ship bucked again as it took another hit to the shields. I kept my eyes down on the back of the chair. I didn't want to look through the viewport and see another near death maneuver. Serri tapped a holokey and said quickly "Voice commands. It's one of the newer models. Whatever you're going to do, do it FAST. No..FIRST go through the terminal on your right and scan the vessel behind us. See what kind it even is. It's keeping up with us so I'd guess it's a bug fighter varient like us but just to be sure. If you get a scan on it you'll be able to get tactical readouts too."

Despite myself I looked up, right when the ship dived under another massive branch and sped left around the tree. I stepped up on Serris right side to the terminal and clicked through the files and functions. Why can't there just be a key that says 'scan enemy ship'? I heard Serri hiss beside me as another beam hit our bug fighter.

I hissed to myself and shouted "I can't figure out how to target the ship and scan it!" He tensed up and his head snapped right to glare at me and he shouted back "ARE YOU SERIOUS? . STOP MESSING WITH THE TERM AND DO IT." Unbelievable. I punched him and yelled "YOU TOLD ME TO MESS WITH THE TERMINAL! FINE,"

"Ship computer, target enemy vessel. Scan and state vessel classification and shield levels. Also please activate the rear walls observation panels." The ship rocked three times in quick succession and a completely calm female voice replied to me "Instructions confirmed. Pursuing vessel is bug fighter in origin. Sensors indicate it has undergone changes to allow for maximum effeciency in stealth and speed. Enemy vessel shield levels are at 100 percent. Now activating specified observation panels."

I held onto the terminal like my life depended on it as the ship began flying upward until it was angled completely vertical. "STOP GOING UP." I yelled at Serri while looking down at Terrus and Heyo lying flat against the back of the ship. The latter seemed to be unconcious.

Right then the observation panels activated and from my point of view it looked as if the whole ships rear had been vaporized and they were being supported by nothing but air. The enemy bug fighter was flying straight up with us and getting closer every second. I was surprised to see we were well above the trees and valleys.

A beam lanced out from the pursuing ship and hit the rear shields full on. Terrus looked down at it, then stared up at me in utter terror and shouted "I KNOW I GET IT I WAS WRONG. COMPLETELY WRONG. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KILL HEYO AND I WON'T TRY IT AGAIN! IF YOU LEVEL THE SHIP I'LL TURN DESHA'S VESSEL TO PIECES OF TWISTED RAMONITE."

"ARE YOU SURE IT'S DESHA?" I shouted down to her. "DOES IT MATTER? TELL SERRI .THE SHIP" Terrus yelled angrily.  
>Serri shouted from beside me "ALREADY ON IT. BRACE YOURSELVES."<p>

"BRACE MYSELF ON WHAT?" Terrus and I shouted at the same time.

The ship leveled out finally and I loosened my hold on the terminal. I really shouldn't have. In the next 3 seconds the ship accelerated again and I found myself flying backwards, my flight was softened when I smashed into Terrus, pinning her against the back wall. Our ship was flying straight down now!

I looked up behind me through the ships transparent wall and began, "Ship computer, turn off observa..." The enemy ship was arching to follow us. I threw a millisecond glance down at the huge trees rushing up to meet us and concentrated on the vessel behind us again. It fired four times with the main dracon beams, each landed dead on and another alarm sounded from within our ship.

Serri announced angrily "THE SHIELDS ARE NOW AT 5 PERCENT." The ships computers said the same in an annoyingly cool tone. I shouted to Serri, "Elim maneuver!" and he replied with a hiss and an "If you say so." Terrus muttered from behind me, "You're crazy..I don't want to share a ship with you.."

"Don't worry. It will work this time." I replied. _I hope. Elim is such a risky move it's almost never used in training sessions_. Serri yelled out "Elim maneuver initiating in...NOW!"

As the ship came to a halt, Terrus and I flew forward and I was pinned against the back of Serri's chair by her. I looked back again at the end of the ship just in time to see our pursuers flash forward underneath our vessel. I mentally tracked it's progress and looked down through the forward viewports. It was rushing ahead to the mists!

I heard Serri quickly say "Ship computer, divert power from thrusters, shields, EVERYTHING and put it into our forward dracon beams and fire on that darkap fighter."

"Understood. Power is diverted. Options are now available. Fire continuously or initiate single full power strike?" The ship asked.

Serri, Terrus and I yelled roughly the same thing. "JUST FIRE!"

Our ship hung in mid air, the dracon beams rained down to hit the enemy craft seven times, causing the back of it to be vaporized. I watched it as it got smaller and smaller until it leveled out and glided forward, disappearing into the mists.

Everything was silent in the ship except for the sound of the thrusters. I looked around and spotted Heyo to my right with crates against him and cells scattered everywhere. To my left side there were dracon weapons and the skimmers on the viewport, with the HKs laying next to them. Serri was completely unmoving in his chair. "Can you put the ship even again please?" I asked. He didn't say a word as he righted the ship.

I pushed Terrus off me and stood up. "Serri?" He didn't respond for several seconds so I tried again. "Serri? Take your claws off the controls, it's over. Everything is fine. Please talk to me." He just sat there, staring straight ahead. I saw Terrus starting over to check on Heyo but I grabbed her arm and said, "You help Serri. I don't need you trying to finish off Heyo." She grinned and said "I told you I wouldn't try to kill him again. I wasn't just saying that out of terror."

I let go of her arm and went over to Heyo. "I know." I said, more to myself than to her. "I'm sorry I had to scare you with the observation panels. That was terrible of me to do." I pushed a crate off Heyo and shook him a few times and got no response. I looked over my shoulder at Serri and Terrus. She was trying (and failing) to get him to talk or move. I left Heyo and went back to Serri. I put myself right infront of him, grabbed his face with my right hand and looked into his eyes"Things are okay now. Everyone's safe. I'm safe I'm right here with you and Terrus is here too. PLEASE. Do something to show me you're still alive."

He kept staring as if I wasn't even there. I felt hopeless and sad. _What if he doesn't come out of this? What's going on? Why won't he even respond to ME?_ I stood up and looked at Terrus meaningfully, hoping she'd understand. She grinned and before I even knew what had happened, she'd pulled back her hand and punched him in the side of the head.

He instantly jumped up and swung around to face her. Being behind him, I couldn't see his expression or his eyes, but the grin left Terrus's face and she took a few steps back. She tried to sound cheerful and said "Oh look he moved. Mission accomplished Eliza." He took a step towards her and she stepped back even more. She tried again with the cheeriness "So..you..good job flying! You really showed everyone here why you passed the piloting courses..."

She looked past him at me in a silent plea for help. I just smiled at her and raised my left arm, effectively saying: _Get out of this one yourself._ Unfortunately, she misinterpreted it as_ 'I'm going to die'_ and smiled uncertainly at Serri. "Really, the piloting was _**amazing**_...you're going to kill me now aren't you?" He raised a bladed arm and I stepped forward and spun him around to face me.

"_**Nobody**_ is killing anybody else here." I told him firmly. He grinned at me and I realized he'd been_ messing with Terrus_. I tried hard not to smile but I did anyway and Terrus saw. She came over and patted his arm, then whisperered to him "I really do think the piloting was..perfect. I'll leave you two alone and just go gather up the weapons and equipment and put in the back of the ship again."

She went about picking of the cells and moving the crates around, and making alot of noise doing it. I stared at Serri for a few seconds and then grabbed his arm and moved him back onto his chair. I positioned myself infront of him again and said quietly "Serri, you still haven't talked. You need to talk, at least to me." He laughed and shook his head.

"You know you're an amazing pilot Serri. You are. We're all alive and safe because of you." I told him. "You could all be _**dead**_ because of me." His voice, already a whisper, was almost inaudible when he'd said 'dead'. "I don't want this. I don't want to be the one to kill you. I don't want the responsibility of having _**everyones life**_ in my claws _**just by being in the pilots chair**._"

_Poor Serri_. "If not you then who else?" I asked softly. He stared so I continued on. "I would rather it be **you** who gets us all killed than some random darkap I don't even know."

Terrus shouted from the back of the ship "I don't see how that's supposed to comfort him. _**Or ME**_."

Serri grinned and shouted back "Stay out of the conversation miss." Terrus growled and went back to organizing the equipment. I smiled at Serri and said "Serri..Are you feeling up to flying again now? We need to get down into the mists and see about that bug fighter and then we still need to go to the Andalite crash sites." I saw the same blankness cross over his features and saw the fear in his eyes. He stared past me, through me again for five seconds before grinning and saying "No chase this time. Just easy flying. Not a problem."

I moved to stand on his left side and I put my hand on his shoulder. "Yes. Just easy flying. It's okay." He tentatively placed his claws around the control sticks and then looked at me. I smiled and reassured him gently "It's okay Serri. Nobody will be hurt. You won't crash. I _**promise**_. You're the best pilot I've ever known." Terrus came up on his right side and said loudly "Everything is all neatly placed back there...Darkap ship computer, deactivate the observation panels in the back of the ship. Now."

"Understood. Complying. May I make an inquiry?" _An inquiry? The SHIP?_ Terrus laughed and said simply "Go ahead."

The female voice droned out, "Your pilot does not appear to be functioning correctly. If he is unable to pilot the ship, my programming allows me access to all systems aboard this vessel. I am able to preform the functions of any Yeerk pilot. Would you prefer to authorize me to assume control of the bug fighter? Given your pilots state, I would highly suggest-" Terrus cut her, it, off and said quickly "That won't be necessary. Our pilot is in perfect condition. _**Isn't he Eliza?**_"

Serri grinned at me and said in a mock tone. "I'm **_perfect_**. I'm the greatest pilot in the universe." Terrus laughed and told him "Don't be so arrogant. You sound like an Andalite." He laughed back at her and stated "Well, If I'm Andalite then I'm sure I'm the best Andalite ever." "Undoubtedly Serri. Are you ready?" I asked with a smile.

He gave a simple "Yes" and took us down to the mists.


	11. Chapter 10: Outside The Box

_(**Story resumed from my POV. I hope Liz writes another chapter though!**)_

_** Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 10: Outside the box Location: The mists**_

The arrogant darkap. Not as arrogant now. Nervous. Fearful. _As if it isn't bad enough I'm shaken up!_ A shaken up Serri wasn't helping my mood. I wanted some Arn creation to kill. I wanted to jump on its huge ugly face and gouge out the eyes and slice until I reached the brain and take dracon beams to it.

Unfortunately, that was the LAST thing the others wanted, and they kept telling me so as we made our way through the aptly named mists.

Heyo glared from beside me and said angrily "Terrus, the only thing I'm saying is you can't be off fighting things. This is**_ YOUR_** little mission remember?" I grinned triumphantly back. "Yes! Exactly, It's _**MY**_ mission! I can decide to go off and kill things if I want to. And since this is _**MY**_ mission that makes _**ME**_ the leader. And the leader should be told where crash sites are**_ BEFORE_** they get there! I still don't know why we set down on the outskirts of the mists instead of landing right next to where Desha's ship crashed."

Serri looked back over his shoulder from ahead and began to explain "It's really simple miss. If we had landed next to them they could have ambushed us in our own ship, killed us as we left it, caught is in a crossfire from behind some of the larger boulders, or they could have even-" "Save that kind of talk for later when it's going to be more appropriately received." I interrupted.

Serri looked puzzled and asked "What better time would there be to receive that kind of information than being in the middle of a dense fog and approaching a crashed hostile ship?" I grinned and answered "How about when we're sent out off the planet? To the Xandar invasion, for example. Or the Taxxon homeworld, I heard they're rebelling again. When we get to Desha's vessel I think we should-" Heyo pushed me and chided me angrily "You don't know if it's Desha!"

I pushed him back and said excitedly "But I do know! It all fits together! The exactly _**FOUR** _of everything missing mere minutes after I'd interrogated the Visser about Andalites. The bug fighter, the modified bug fighter, attacking us when we're on our way to the crash sites of Andalite vessels. They were the _**ONLY ONES**_ who would know about this. The _**ONLY ONES**_ who could be tasked secretly by the Visser to get to the crash sites _**BEFORE US**_. They are the _**ONLY ONES**_ who even have a chance of stopping this team, now where's one of those darkap Arn creatures I want to _**kill**_ something!"

Serri sped up his pace and went further ahead until he was just a shape against the mists, while Heyo stayed back with me. "Terrus. Fine. You can kill whatever Arn creature we run into or whatever one finds us. But you won't go off _**LOOKING**_ for them. There's not many of them left anyway. And on the subject of Desha..okay. It looks like her team. This seems like her. I give you that." He thinks he can tell me what to do? Darkap.

I grinned and told him gleefully "Okay darkap. I won't go looking for them. Don't worry." I spotted a decent sized boulder on my left and went over to it and sat down. He stared, completely baffled, and said "Don't tell me your tired." I grinned as he came over and sat next to me. "I'm not tired. I'm just...Oh I don't know. I just have this feeling, this strange urge to point my dracon beams up at the sky and fire them a few times."

Realization dawned on him and he glared "Don't even think about it." I half raised my arms and replied "Why not?" I raised them higher and he leaned over to pull them down. "_**WHY NOT**_? Because I don't want to die." I looked over to where Serri had gone and saw nothing but mists. I submitted to having my arms dragged down and sighed at him. "Serri's gone. Eliza is still back at the ship. I'm not entirely comfortable with the fact that he gave her the how to be a bug fighter pilot in twenty seconds course.. I'm sure she can save us but I'm also sure it won't be a very_ good_ rescue."

He wasn't fooled by my subject change and still held onto my arms. "I mean it Terrus. I don't want to die. I forgive you for trying to kill me on the ship. I'm sorry for calling you traitor to the Empire." _He's getting smarter already! Maybe there is hope for him._ Maybe..I _**COULD**_ learn to like him. I was surprised to find that I wasn't at all bothered that he was still gripping my arms. I smiled. "Fine."

He let go and pulled his holocomp off his utility belt and started messing with a map of our location. I turned away, still smiling. _On the other hand..Maybe there isn't any hope for him._ I threw my arms up and fired six times before he hissed and put his blade to my neck from behind. "I told you I don't want to die Terrus!" I lowered my arms slowly and set the dracon beams on the boulder. "_Never_ take a blade to me or you'll end up dead faster than you could ever hope." I said amusedly. I felt the blade move away from my spine. I turned to face him and he inched away from me. I just smiled and said "No Arn creature." I snatched up my dracon beams and walked in the direction Serri had gone, not even bothering to look back at Heyo. I smiled to myself. _He'll follow me._

I looked back and saw he was indeed following, then I put my dracon beams into the holstors, detached and activated my holocomp, brought up the team list, and tapped Serri's name. "Serri, stop moving and let Heyo and I catch up. I can't even see you." I sent the recorded audio message and kept going. Heyo tried to engage me in conversation but I cut him off every time. After about 20 minutes of travel I checked for a message from Serri. _The darkap should have responded by now!_ Up ahead, I saw the flash of dracon fire and I heard the sweet sounds they were making. _The sounds of combat! Serri and an Arn creation? Serri and Desha's team?_ Either way.."Come on Heyo" I said without looking back.

I ran as fast as I could towards the battle. The dracon flashes were becoming more random, from the left, from the right, some going past me even! It has to be Desha's team with Serri. I looked over my shoulder and..NO HEYO! _DARKAP! FINE. It isn't like I _need_ him or anything!_

I got closer and closer until I could see the perfectly clear figures of five Hork Bajir dodging all around a creature I'd never seen in person before, but that I'd heard of. A creature I knew since the beginning. Every Yeerk knew of them and hated them. The arrogant lords of the universe! "ANDALITE!" I yelled as I charged the thing, firing as I went. A stalk eye turned to look at me and the Andalite leaped so gracefully out of the way, so perfectly..My dracon fire flew past it and hit Kamia right as the enemy flicked it's tail forward and cut off his head. NO! Pathetic Yeerks! The Andalite said in my mind.

I hissed and skidded to a stop just as it swung the tail backward, making a deep gash in my shoulder instead of cutting off MY head! Desha and Serri acted in the same moment, Serri on my left fired his dracon beam at the enemies stalk eyes, nearly burning them off, while Desha dove beneath it from the right, slashed at it's two front legs, and came up on Serri's side with no arm! _I didn't even see the tail move that time!_

I hung back and saw the Zani twins to the right, backed up against a boulder and trying to fire at the Andalite without hitting Desha or Serri, which, as a result, was causing them to miss every single time! The Andalite turned and ran towards them and they stood there like darkap until finally firing again, which didn't do any good because it dashed left and right and swung it's deadly tail, catching them both across the torso as they moved back. Desha and Serri fired at it and it twisted around, cutting off a Zani head as it went. In one fluid motion I saw it stab it's tail blade right through the other Zani's chest, lift him up, bring the body around to the front and charge towards Desha and Serri.

_It's using Zani as a living shield!_ I stared in complete awe, complete fear, complete _**anger.**_ Several thoughts flashed through my head at once. _I can't fight this! It's slaughtering us! How could I ever have thought I could win against Andalites? That _ANY_ of us can? I'm going to_ KILL THIS THING_!_ I threw my dracon beams aside and held up a claw to Serri and Desha. Don't fire. Serri dropped his weapon and grabbed Desha. The Andalite was still going towards them!

"ANDALITE! If you have any HONOR at all you won't kill them now!" It stopped in mid gallop, tossed Zani aside and lowered it's now free tail the tiniest fraction. Desha was struggling to get away from Serri. It turned it's full body towards me but kept the stalk eyes on them.

Is this a challenge Yeerk? Was there some tiny hint of..amusement? Was it PLAYING with us? I took a few cautious steps toward the thing until I was just within it's striking distance and lowered my head. "Yes. This is a challenge. You and I." Now that I was able to TRULY look at it in detail I could see it was..young? Or just small? Andalite against Yeerk is no challenge. Okay, it DEFINITELY was amused.

"Then you won't fight me? Darkap." I laughed and it tensed at the sound.

Foolish Yeerk. To fight you, for you to be a CHALLENGE, I must be something LESSER than myself. Desha threw Serri off and ran at the Andalite, who just watched her calmly. Serri raised his dracon beam and hit her square in the back and she fell to the ground. "Stunned," Serri said "I would like for you to explain how you will become something..LESS than yourself you piece of filth." I will not explain to a disgusting Yeerk the secrets of the Andalites. It is, however, quite simple. I will morph

_This one can _MORPH_?_ "Can you become Hork-Bajir?" I asked, staring at first the main eyes, and then the stalks. It did something weird with it's eyes and told me Yes. You are...different..than how my Prince told me..You closely resemble the image of Yeerks that my Shorm often entertained. It kicked the ground with it's front hoof and I said with a grin "Change to Hork-Bajir now then, Andalite. I can kill you and go back to my Visser to get promoted."

It did the eye movement again and told me as it began to change You will most likely win. I have not been Hork-Bajir nearly as long as you have. I looked at Serri and said firmly "Stay out of this." He sat on the ground and muttered "Yes miss.." I saw on the edge of my field of vision the Andalite morphing and I looked at it full on. "Where are the other Andalites? Did any others survive?" I asked casually. I do not know. If I did, I would not tell you, Yeerk. "Terrus." Yeerk scum. I laughed again and said "My name is Terrus. Do you want to say it with me? Tair. Us. Terrus."

It was silent as it continued to change and melt, features replacing others, things moving and receeding..It was beautiful. Terrus It said grudgingly. I will take pleasure in fighting you. "But not in killing me?" I asked with a grin. No. There is no pleasure to be had in killing. Not even of Yeerk scum...Terrus. I watched it until the transformation was complete, and I grinned. "The tail isn't quite the same." No. It is not. It agreed. I glanced at Serri and said "Take Desha back to the ship. Find Heyo too. All of you get back to base. Go right to the Visser and tell him you've killed an Andalite."

Serri glared at the Andalite turned Hork-Bajir and asked slowly "Will we have killed an Andalite?"

"Maybe, maybe not." I replied coldy "Either way I'm saving my team. Now get going." He went over and picked up Desha, then disappeared into the mists in the direction of the ship. Interesting. You truly do resemble the fantasy Yeerks my shorm often described. "If I kill you will I still be different?" Yes It once again made the weird eye movement at me, but with the hork bajir eyes. _What is it with this thing?_ "You're different than.. other Andalites..I've heard of." I said grudgingly. How so? I grinned at it "If you weren't different than them you would have ignored my challenge, yelled pathetic slug and just ran down my fellow Yeerks and killed me. We wouldn't even be having this discussion if you were like the other Andalites I've always heard about."

True..Terrus. Were you like any other Yeerks I've heard of and fought, we would not be discussing this. Shall we fight now? "Yes. We shall, Andalite." I heard the familiar hatred in my voice as I'd said that. I realized.._I don't want to hate him._ I raised my bladed arms up to- Elfangor. I was confused. "What? What does that mean Andalite?" Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul. My name is Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul. Proud Andalite Aristh. Do you want to say it with me? it said, mocking me playfully. "Elfangor. Proud Andalite Aristh." I said quietly. "I like the name." Thank you, Terrus. I believe you were about to slice me in two? _More of that amusement...I don't want to kill this thing...Yet._

I leaped forward, swinging an arm blade for his neck, and the other for his waist. He ducked clumsily under my neck slice and blocked my other slash, barely. I shoved him back with a hand to the chest and closed in quickly again. He raised his arm blades and stared at me, waiting to see what I'd do.

I closed the five step gap between us and went to ram my right elbow blade into his chest, but he turned his arm sideways, catching the blade inbetween his arm ones. The Andalite..Elfangor, brought his other arm around, I raised my own to parry, and he rotated his arm mid swing and caught me on the exact same deep shoulder wound he'd given me moments ago as an Andalite! I felt it going through me like slicing air, _it's going to hit my spine!_ I twisted my whole body sideways towards the moving blade, causing it to go completely through my chest, right below my neck, instead of through my spine.

He jerked his other arm to the side, breaking off my elbow blade and adding more pain to my body. Then he pushed me backward with both hands and stepped back a couple steps himself. That was brilliant thinking. Although I imagine it is very painful, even for your Yeerk mind "It..definitely..hurts. Elfangor.." I said between growls and hisses. I held my gash together tightly, trying to get it to heal. I will allow you some time to recover. The Hork-Bajir regenerative ability is amazing.

I grinned at him and agreed "As long as you don't attack me again and I stay still, it should heal up in no time. Why do you still think at me? Why not speak in Galard?" I have not..used Galard in some time...since my shorm and I were on a series of strange missions to..Xandar. I believe Xandar will be taken completely by the Yeerk Empire in a matter of months.

I stared in surprise._ This Andalite had been there?_ I was instantly curious again. "Is that why the Andalite vessels were coming to this planet? Did you flee from Xandar four months ago?" The Andalites tail twitched and he said sharply I did not _**flee**_! Nor did my shorm or our Prince! We were _**ORDERED**_ to leave the planet and we obeyed those orders. Something I do not think _**YEERKS**_ are familiar with. I _**DID**_ see your ship being chased by the smaller one. What was the ones name? "Desha." Yes...Why did it attempt to destroy you?

I laughed again and checked my wound. Almost sealed. "It's a long story Andalite. I discovered your existence on this planet by my host. He told me four months ago, when you fle- were_** ORDERED**_ to leave the Xandar conflict, that he met several or one Andalite from the crashed ships you had coming onto the planet, and that he was told that the Andalites would destroy our Pool ships when they arrived. What have you been doing for the last four months?" You expect me to tell you? You are the enemy. No matter how curious we are of each other. No matter how different we are from our own species. "I'll keep that in mind." I said, not able to keep the tiniest touch of disappointment from my voice.

He stared at me, looking me over. First my blades, then my face, and then at my wound. I looked at the ground. When I looked up seconds later he was still staring at me. I apologize. This morphs instincts...Your host body is female... _Embarrassed! An Andalite!_ I glared at him as best I could and stated with false malice "Your Andalite body is nothing special to look at." Yet you are in awe of it. He said, catching me completely off guard. _How does he know..? Am I really that obvious? So what if I admire his SHAPE anyway!_

"I admire the shapes of Andalites. The grace, the eyes, the tail, the..I've always wanted to be one." I admitted. **TO STEAL ONE!** He shouted in sudden anger. "Yes. Like what the Yeerk Empire does is any worse then teaching another species of the universe and technology and helping them for _**YEARS**_ and then trying to kill all of them because they got beyond your control! **OR WHAT ABOUT YOUR _ALLORAN_ WHO SLAUGHTERED THE HORK BAJIR? GENOCIDAL ANDALITES!**" I yelled back at the thing.

You care _**NOTHING**_ for the Hork-Bajir! _Andalite hypocrisy!_ "Neither do you! Something we have in common." Is your wound healed now**_ YEERK_**? It asked, shooting images of violence into my mind. "**YES**!" I barked out as I threw myself at the hated thing again.

I went to decapitate the thing, jumped back to avoid a knee blade to the gut, and slashed down, cutting off the leg. He balanced on one leg for three seconds, using his tail as support, and swung wildly at me with both arms. "Pathetic! You call yourself a true warrior! You can't even adapt to different bodies!" I jeered at the thing before throwing a claw forward and knocking it over. It stared up at me from the ground and asked Are the insults truly neccesary? "Yes. It motivates. It pushes you. If used rightly. Do your Andalite instructors not know this?"

It was silent for a long while before it actually LAUGHED in my mind and said with amusement Yes. They definitely know. Should you not kill me now, Terrus? You seem to be playing with me. I grinned down at him and replied happily "You're right. I'm playing with you. And I would have thought you'd not be in any rush to die." Andalite warriors do not wish this..it is..humiliating. I need to die quickly. _I don't want to kill you... This thing...can lead me to other Andalites! I'm satisfying both sides of myself. My personal self, and the self that serves the Empire. Perfect._

I glared down at it, **HIM**, Elfangor, and stated calmly. "Demorph. That is the term you Andalites use, is it not?" It sounded very confused and replied Yes..As you wish. I turned my back to it and took my holocomp out of the sheath and tapped on Eliza's name, and began recording, not caring that the Andalite could hear me. "Eliza, I've killed the Andalite. Activating my transmitter now. If you're all back at the base now, which you should be, then find yourself a ship and get over here. If not then just get over here right now." I sent the message and holstored the holocomp, then located and retrieved my dracon beams from the ground.

I turned back around to the Andalite, now TRULY Andalite, and got in it's face. "Congratulations. You're dead now." I said with a grin. He did the strange eye thing again, with the main eyes, and stepped back. Thank you. That is a great relief. I wonder...why do you not kill me truly? Why do you not infest me? "Are you complaining?" I asked in total surprise. No. I am merely wondering. You truly are..different. He said as he kicked the ground with a hoof again.

_You have no idea, Andalite._ I heard in the distance the familiar sound of a very fast moving bug fighter, noting that the Andalites tail twitched. I leaped back outside his tail range and pointed my dracon beams at his chest, and stood completely still. "Get out of here _**now**_, Andalite." I told him in as harsh a tone as I could manage. He stared and lowered the tail completely. You are letting me go. It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes." I said as the bug fighters sound changed from in and outs to a drone. _It's out of the trees now_. Why? I glared at him and pulled the dracon beams triggers, aiming near the Andalites two front hooves. It moved back quickly from the scorched and bubbling holes in the ground, but still refused to leave. Why?

"This is a completely Yeerk controlled planet. There's either just you or about a dozen others of your kind here in hiding.. Where would you go?" I gave him a grin and added. "I think I can give you a few days head start." I lowered my dracon beams and it took a couple more steps back. The bug fighter sounded... Elfangor raised the stalk eyes to stare up and past me. I turned too and saw the bug fighter, a small distorted dot in the distance, approaching very very quickly. I spun back around and yelled angrily "**WOULD YOU JUST GET**-" He wasn't there. "Good luck." I said softly to the empty space he'd occupied.

I glanced over my shoulder at the bug fighter, which had slowed down now that it was getting so close to the mists. I could make out the basic shape now. It would land in a minute or two, given that it had reduced it's speed. In the relative silence I heard hissing and sputtering noises from behind a boulder to my right, and went to investigate it.

The Zani twin who'd been impaled.

I crouched down infront of him and just stared. He glared at me and shouted angrily "You _**TRAITOR**_. You _**DARKAP**_! You let that **_BEAST_** get away! You talked to it like one of our own! You made a deal with the thing!_** I'LL KILL YOU!**_ No, I'll make sure you get put through Kandrona starvation a hundred times over! _**NO! A THOUSAND TIMES**_..!" I let him rant and casually I set my dracon beams settings to nine. "I saved my team the only way I could. That Andalite will lead me to the others." I told him coldly.

He glared and said in a disgusted voice. "_**Right**_. Terrus 5633 of the Yeerk Empire. Terrus 5633, the _** Andalite saver.** _Terrus 5633 the _**traitor**_-" I fired at his chest and face once, then over and over again all over his body for a full five seconds. When I was done, he was nothing but a melted liquid mass, splattered onto the boulder he'd been propped up against. I wasn't surprised to realize I felt nothing. "You served the Empire well...darkap."

I stood straight and looked around for the decapitated Kamia. Spotting him in no time I went over and sat next to his corpse. "You were okay..." _I don't get why I'm talking to a dead person! Am I crazy? No..I'm not. Not when I'm the one who killed him._ "This was..the only kill..the first kill I never intended to make. You weren't an enemy..you were a good fighter. You really were. To have been on Deshas team...to have fought me and _**WON.**_ You were..okay for a brutish darkap. We could have been friends." The fog scattered everywhere and the bug fighters thrusters were louder than ever as I heard it set down behind me. I ignored it when I heard the cargo door open and just stared at Kamia. I ignored it even seconds later when I heard movement behind me.

"Kamia..you were a true Yeerk. A true soldier of the Empire. You had skill, you had the right host, maybe you even had ambition. I'm sure you did..we all do." I felt a hand on my back and I ignored it and continued to speak to Kamia. "Because of what I did, everything that was you..is gone. Kamia..I'm sorry." I pushed the hand off my shoulder and stood, turning around and coming face to face with Eliza. She looked about to say something but I pushed past her and walked toward the bug fighter, passing Serri and Heyo on the way.

_There's nothing they can say._ I almost ran up the ramp into the back of the ship. I occupied myself with moving equipment around in a corner, then sat down, hiding myself behind the weapons and ammo. I clutched my dracon beams tightly, resisting the urge to put them to setting ten and destroy the ship from the inside. That wouldn't solve anything. "What won't?" A soft voice asked.

I looked up and found myself at eye level with Desha. I hadn't realized I'd spoken that last part aloud.. I put on a false grin and said with more cheerfulness than I felt, "Destroying the ship from the inside with my dracon beams." Her eyes glinted and she whispered so quietly I had to lean in to hear "I..I saw you..speaking to Kamia..from here. I heard." I glared at her and shouted suddenly "**IF YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME THAT'S WEAKNESS THEN I MIGHT JUST MELT YOUR FACE OFF!**" She flinched and whispered sadly "It's not weakness...that was...honorable. Thank you. I would never have done that. You're different."

I slashed her leg and pushed her away from me in an eyeblink. **"I KEEP HEARING THAT! AND I AM SICK OF IT! LEAVE ME ALONE.**" I raised my dracon beams and aimed at her face. She stared and then glanced over where I couldn't see past the crates. A second later Eliza, Serri, and Heyo came into view. I let my weapons slip from my claws to clatter onto the deck, and I again felt.._What do I do? This..This _GUILT_. This _SADNESS_. This _RAGE_. I don't know what to do with it all..._ "It's too much.." I whispered as Eliza sat down infront of me.

She glanced over her shoulder and shooed Desha and Heyo away and told Serri "Take us home." To which he replied with a gaze that lingered on me for a few seconds "Right away." He turned and went to the front of the ship and sat in the pilots chair, and three seconds later was joined by Desha and Heyo. Eliza put her hand on my arm and began "It wasn't your fault-" I felt the anger rise up and I yelled "**NO**! It WAS MY FAULT! I. KILLED. HIM!"

She switched tactics and said calmly "Kamia would have wanted to see you succeed. He'd be happy, overjoyed, to know you accomplished your personal mission."_ But I didn't._.. "That's right. He'd be happy I killed the Andalite." I whispered, terribly ashamed of myself. _I didn't kill it..I let it live. I'll find it again..I'll remove the tail blade and I'll torture the thing and kill it. Then I'll..I'll hunt all the other Andalites on this planet too_. "Sabotage. The Andalites can morph. The ones here can morph." I stated with no emotion at all. Eliza stared in surprise and asked "Are you sure?" I fiddled with a dracon beam and didn't look up. "The one I fou- The one I killed could..did..Chances are the others can too. It was Hork-Bajir.."

Eliza pulled the dracon beam out of my hand slowly and gently, as if she thought I might attack or shoot her. "You killed it. That's all that matters. And we can find the others Terrus. We will find them. Don't worry."

I raised my head at that. "Yes." I said with sudden cheer. "We will find them and kill them all." She smiled and Serri yelled from the front, "The darkap ship isn't STARTING! Just a public announcement in case you're wondering why we're not off the ground by now." Eliza grinned at me and asked "Should we go see what the problem is or do you want to stay back here all alone?" I held my remaining weapon to my chest and said shortly "You go. I'll just be..here." She got up and left me. Not even a word, a parting wisdom, a helpful or witty comment. _Why? Because I don't need any of that now._

I kept switching the dracon beams settings from one to ten and back, loading and reloading pointlessly, partially squeezing the trigger and letting off again. The simple act of checking my weapon occupied my time for the next few minutes. I tuned out their chatter from the front, waiting to hear the thrusters start up so I could escape from this place._ At the end of today all of us will be transferred off the training base finally. We'll do REAL work. REAL missions. Do things of REAL IMPORTANCE on this planet. I don't know what, but we've always been told we'll do incredible things here, when everyone else is transferred off planet, and then the next thousand batches of grubs show up._

_Maybe after the work here is done..we can all get a transfer. Though we'll probably all be inserted into the universal 'hot spots' anyway and not just a single planet. Unless it's needed. Yes that's it. A new start. A new day, a new mission. A new planet. Anything but these mists, anything not boring or terrible like right now_- a massive flesh on metal hit resounded throughout the ship, accompanied by sizzling. I was instantly alert. Everyone was quiet as two seconds later the same thing happened. I located the source as from the left side of the ship and I jumped to my feet, knocking the crates over.

Eliza, Serri, Heyo, and Desha were all motionless at the front of the ship and I heard Desha whisper "Serri 481, I think you should get us out of these mists..." He responded with a growl of frustration and replied "I'm trying. This isn't as easy as it looks!" _Darkap_. This time three seperate hits smashed into the ship, rocking it. Heyo shouted back to me, "Here's your Arn monster, Terrus. Go kill it." Nobody tried to stop me. I didn't bother with a smart response. Not even a grin. I turned and descended the ramp out of the ship with only one thought going through my head, over and over, as I gripped my weapon and dragged my right arm and wrist blades across the ships wall.

_This Arn monster chose the** WRONG** time to pick a fight._


	12. Chapter 11: Aftermath

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 11: Aftermath

Current location-Training facility 790-3 hours since mist events

It had been three hours since the terrors of the mists. Three hours since I had fought and let live one of our most hated and most feared enemies, an Andalite. Three hours since I had killed two fellow Yeerks, one, to cover my tracks, my BETRAYAL. The other, an accidental murder. At the moment I was sitting on the same ledge at the Pool perimeter, the same spot I always had, staring into the trees. This time, however, I was far more troubled than any other time. But at least I wasn't alone, as I'd been before. There were many controllers standing guard now. A couple dozen Taxxon, and many more that number of Hork-Bajir. I payed them all no attention. Neither did my distractions who were sitting to my right, and neither did Desha and Heyo on my left.

"You did a good job with the monster, Terrus." Heyo of course. Trying to cheer me up._ It's no use you darkap, you can't._ Desha, tiny sitting next to Heyo, leaned forward to look past him at me. "When will you tell the Visser?" I glared at the little darkap and answered "When will you leave? Or did you forget that you tried to kill us? So what are you still doing here?"

Heyo laughed and grinned down at her. "Terrus makes a good point. What are you still doing here? If I were you, I'd go straight to the Visser and claim I killed the Andalite in a glorious battle after my team was slaughtered and-" Desha slammed her wrist blade down right on his tail, cutting it off, then stabbed her other arms blades into his gut, and pushed him off the ledge, all within the space of two seconds. Nobody had had any time to react at all! I looked down over the edge and saw he was already a small figure, and getting smaller until...several seconds later I couldn't see him as anything other than a tiny speck on my vision.

Gleeful high pitched laughter brought me out of my shocked state. I jumped to my feet and grabbed Desha by her neck, putting my wrist blade to her throat. Eliza stood up, alternating from staring down off the ledge, to staring at me. Whereas Serri was up and warding off the guards "Nothing to see here! Go back to your duties or you'll be next!" I glared at Desha, who went to slice off my arms in an instant but was met with wrist blades that countered her own. I glanced left and right. Distractions! "I told you two I don't need saving." Desha lowered her ams and laughed again but stopped when I pressed my blade to her throat, drawing blood. "Alright you little darkap. As much as I don't like Heyo, why did you do that?" "Isn't it obvious?" Desha replied softly.

I stared at her, completely perplexed. _What does this darkap mean?_ "Okay. Let's try something else. Why don't you just leave?" She stared into my eyes and said simply, "I'm on my own now." I glanced at Eliza, who nodded at me, then Serri, and put her blade to her throat for a second. I stared back at Desha. _She misses her team._ I sighed at her and let her go, lowering my blade arm as well. "Do you want to be on our team?" She laughed in the annoyingly shrill way she did and said in her oh so quiet voice. "Yes." I stepped back from her and looked at Serri and Eliza. "Desha will betray us at any point in the future, unlike Heyo...but he's..dead now.." I couldn't believe it. How CASUAL it had been for Desha to do that. How untroubled she is.

_I can't believe how strongly I'm feeling for this darkap now. So many times over training, so many times just TODAY, I've been wanting to do that myself to him!_ I directed to Desha "You want to join our team..but teams are only allowed four members..so you killed the fourth one...who also was on your own team at one point before he esca- I mean_** left**_, and formed his own team, and became the egotistical darkap he is now. Correct?" She nodded with a bit of a smile. I continued on, "Well I was just starting to like him. We'd gotten past our differences, and then you just went and killed him like that..That's a problem you and I have now."

Serri took a step forward at that but I halted him with a glance. Desha looked to Eliza and whispered, eyes wide. "If I join you I promise I won't kill anyone else on the team. Please protect me from Terrus too!" Serri stared at her, utterly thrown off. I also felt completely confused and put off. _She's acting like a day old grub! That's the point though, I think._ Eliza beamed at her and seemed about to hug the devious little darkap, but thankfully didn't, and instead told Desha "Of course you can join us! I'm sure you don't feel bad for doing that to Heyo because of how he treated you before leaving your team, and that's understandable. But you really didn't need to kill him."

Serri got to his senses before I did and burst out "Don't fall for this Liz. She's insane. She's cruel. She'd do ANYTHING to advance. We don't need someone like that on our team." I hissed and said to Desha "I'm not in the best state of mind to figure out what to do with people, so it falls to Serri and Eliza." Desha pressed her forehead to Eliza's and said softly "I trust her judgement." _I bet you do, you manipulative darkap._ I let them discuss the matter and I stood on the very tip of the ledge, looking down, unable to see the tiny speck that was Heyo. _He'd splattered onto the valley floor or..._

I took five steps over, now exactly where he had been sitting. This massive Pool structure was made out of the giant trees... I looked over my shoulder at Desha and my distractions and, before they could do or say anything, I took one step forward and fell toward the valley floor. I heard nothing but the rushing wind, I fell so very fast but it seemed I was falling forever, when I was about halfway down the side (As far as I could tell), I stabbed my elbow blades and my leg blades into the wall behind me. I kept falling and I began to panic and angled my arms up and, a millisecond later, felt my speed reduce so drastically that my arms were almost pulled off! I leveld my arms straight forward slowly, gaining a bit of speed again, then angled back once more. Three heartbeats later I was completely stopped, completely stuck to this wooden wall, hanging so high up still that if I were to drop I'd STILL splatter!_ I'm not even_..I looked up, then back down again. _I'm a little more than halfway down the wall. Perfect._

I looked straight down and let myself drop with increasing speed and after a second, almost going too fast again, I spotted the rapidly approaching form of Heyo! I skidded down to a halt, almost hitting the top of his head with my feet and impaling him with the sharp nailed toes. _What an odd sight we must make! Two Hork-Bajir, head to toes, stuck on the side of a massive wall!_ He glanced up at me and said with a grin, "I figured it would be you." I stared down at him, surprised "You waited here on the side of this EXTREMELY EXTREMELY wide and high wall FOR ME? I'm touched!" We hung there in silence for a few seconds, stupidly, I thought, before I said "Heyo?" He again looked up at me, "Yes Terrus?" "Do you think maybe we should get off this wall?" He looked confused, as if he'd forgotten where we were (An impossible act for anyone else), and said quickly "Oh..yes..Of course." _Darkap._

I removed my right elbow and leg blades from the wall face and swung over to the left, then slid down a few so I was right beside Heyo. I grinned over at him and said "Race you to the bottom." He grinned back and replied cheerfully, "Your mistake." and started to slide down, gaining speed as he went. I let him get a ways ahead and smiled to myself. I ripped all my blades free of the wall and just fell. After three seconds of free falling, everything was a blur to me and I was laughing like a maniac as I blew past Heyo. _This is so FUN!_ I kept falling and laughing, the valley floor getting ever closer. In the slow way things happened during combat for me sometimes, I saw one of the smaller tree branches below, about the size and length of the average Hork, was hanging close to the wall. I stabbed my left and right wrist blades into the wall behind me, angled them down, and then pulled them out all in half a second.

Due to this act, I was catapulted forward towards the tree, so fast I was like a bug fighter! I overshot the intended branch and grabbed panickely for the others. I felt my hands snag one and I swung up, let go, came back down and grabbed another branch, then another, and another until finally, I hit the ground, still harder than I'd expected to, and fell to my knees. I stared at the ground, just laughing to death at the sheer INSANITY, the JOY that had brought me! A moment later I heard the thud of something landing on the ground and I looked over to my right at the wall and saw Heyo. I got up and walked over to him, still laughing. "Better luck next time Heyo." He looked all the way up, then looked to his left at the base. "How do we get back up? And who designed the whole base to be elevated at giant tree level in the middle of a massive clearing?"

I grinned and replied "Well, to the first, I don't know. To the second, I don't know." "You're a darkap then. A complete darkap. We're on the far side of the Pool, and all the way on the other side is the base. And we're down here.", he stated. I went over to the wall and stuck my blade in, testing it..."We can climb all the way back up." I said with a grin. He stared at me and looked all the way up to the top, then at me again. "No. Do you have any idea how long that would take?" Heyo asked me. "No. No I don't." He sighed and pretended to slit his own throat. I suddenly heard shouts and screams from so very very far above and I looked up to see a brown black speck that was getting bigger all the time. When it was about halfway down the wall, I yelled as loud as I could "STICK YOUR BLADES INTO THE WALL YOU DARKAP!"

After another few painful seconds of watching whoever it was fall, finally he (or she) started to slow down. _The darkap isn't going to stop in time_! He was still screaming to death and Heyo yelled at me in frustration "**GIVE THE POOR DARKAP SOME ADVICE!**" I watched the Hork fall and shouted up at the darkap "**LISTEN, YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER GO TO THE TAXXON HOMEWORLD! IT'S TERRIBLE AND THERE'S LIVING MOUNTAINS AND CANNIBALISTIC CREATURES AND A HIGH CHANCE OF DYING-**" Heyo punched me in the face and yelled "**ADVICE ON HOW TO LAND!**" Close enough now the Hork was about the size of my armblades, I stayed silent and watched as he slowed down a bit more, landed on his feet, and crumpled to the ground a few feet away.

Heyo shoved me over to the downed Hork and asked furiously "Why didn't you tell him the part about angling the blades to slow down or speed up?" I shoved him back and answered nonchalantly,"I thought he'd figure it out on his own." The Hork rolled over onto it's back, hissing and growling.

I looked him up and down "He seems fine."

Heyo glared at me and said sarcastically "The poor darkap just fell off the top of a wall so high it's level with those giant darkap trees and had difficulty slowing down. Why wouldn't he be fine?" The Hork laying on the ground glared up at me and Heyo and said "That is something I never want to experience again..and I believe this hosts legs are severely damaged to the point that I am not able to use them. Also, the advice was not very helpful at all miss."

Heyo grinned and asked cheerfully "So what did you do to get thrown off the Pools perimeter by Desha?" Serri didn't grin back and stated dully "I attempted to explain to her that killing our own is not very helpful to the Empire and tried to convince Liz that Desha was manipulating her good nature." Heyo patted him on the head and said "She's not very good with being told that she needs to end her ways." Serri responded with a simple "Shut up." and I glared at both of them before, for the second time, I heard screams from above.

All three of us looked up and watched the person fall. Heyo, still watching, asked, "Who do you think it is Terrus?" I didn't look over at him either as I responded "Well, think of it this way. Do you think Eliza could have managed to throw Desha o-" "No."

I grinned and watched as Eliza slid down the wall, not going too fast or too slow. "Liz adapted to that very quickly." Serri commented, not hiding how impressed he was. _She's not even halfway down the wall and she's got her blades in and she's controlling her speed! I'm impressed too._ Eliza soon landed lightly on her feet infront of us and her eyes immediately went to Serri. "What happened?" She asked in pure concern.

"Nothing. I just didn't make as good a landing as you." He said with a grin. Heyo glanced at me and muttered "I'm fine too thank you for asking. I just have no tail. Not that I used it anyway." I stopped myself from grinning as Serri asked Eliza "How is your hand?" She waved it around a bit and moved her claws. "It's okay but not as good as the old one." Serri was about to say something when I kicked him and asked "Does anyone have any idea how to get back up?"

They all stared, at nothing, at each other "Exactly. Desha most likely took your advice Heyo," I gave him a glare before continuing, "and threw everyone off the base so she can go to the Visser and take credit for everything, in addition to reporting her own mission of killing or neutralizing us, complete."

Serri glared from the ground and said "I'm sure she can find a way to make it seem all the more impressive despite the loss of her team. Also I don't think this hosts legs will recover anytime soon. At least not soon enough for us to try to stop Desha." _What a darkap._ I glared down at him and said exasperatedly "Just leave the host! You can get another one, a better one." He replied with a "Yes miss." and within seconds the host body began throwing its arms around trying to injure us with the blades and was screaming "GAFRASH YEERKS!"

I saw Serri on the ground next to it, now out of the host, and I stepped quickly on the hosts neck and rammed my elbow blade straight through its forehead. It spasmed a few times and then lay still. Eliza stepped forward and picked up Serri carefully. I gave her a smile "Don't drop the darkap." She smiled back. "I won't."

I looked around at the smaller trees, then at the wall, at Heyo and Eliza, and at the rest of the base that I could see from here.

_I need to come up with SOMETHING! THINK!_ I looked around hopelessly for a few more seconds and, coming up with nothing still, I kicked the host on the ground. "Whatever I could possibly come up with to get us back up there won't be fast enough." I said resignedly. Heyo stared incredilously at me and said angrily "**NO!** I've spent all of my training being beaten. The competitions. The scores. The ranks even. I'm not going to be beaten **AGAIN**, **ESPECIALLY** not by Desha!" Eliza had stayed silent so far, looking between me and Heyo. She looked at me cautiously before saying "Being the fastest or strongest isn't always the best...There's four of us. One of Desha. We could get there an hour or two after Desha and could still beat her. Convince the Visser we're the ones that should be promoted..."

_She wants a _NON-VIOLENT_ victory?_ I stared at her in wonder. Again I felt the impatience bubbling up, the need for ACTION, ANY action. "Fine. Let's just get up there already! We can sort out everything **LATER!**" Heyo shook his head at me and Eliza sighed. I ignored them both, jumped at the wall, impaled it with my wrist and knee blades, and began to climb as fast as I could.

A long while later we reached the top of the Pools wall. I wasn't sure how much time exactly had passed, but the climb seemed like forever so it must have been alot of time passed!_ I don't really care though, do I? I just want to get to Desha and kill her, or _SOMETHING_. Whatever I decide to do, I have to do!_

As we hauled ourselves up over the wall, all the guards and random controllers close enough turned their eyes to us. The guards started cIosing in, but I didn't wait for Heyo or Eliza. I jumped to my feet and sprinted through the crowds, past the surprised guards all the way to the lifts. I leaned against the lifts door frame and looked back across the Pool, only to find that they hadn't followed! I saw across the distance that they were being held up by four Taxxon and twice that number of Hork-Bajir. _Darkap! They should know by now that when I rush into action, they either follow or suffer the consequences._

Right as I was about to enter the lift, I felt a claw tap my shoulder and I turned around again to find myself surrounded by five heavily muscled, heavily armed, ten foot Hork-Bajir and two of the biggest Taxxon controllers I'd ever seen. The Horks had black ramonite armor that covered the chest, gut, arms, necks and legs, and a visored helmet that matched the structure of the skull. They had dracon rifles slung across their backs, a belt across their chests contained Cells and hand held explosives, and they were all aiming dracon beams at me. All of them had green symbols on their chests.

The Vissers symbol.

I took all of this in, and their positions, in a heartbeat. Two on my left, two on my right and one directly infront of me. The two Taxxon were standing completely still behind the Hork infront of me. For now.

I put on a huge grin and said to the Hork infront of me, designated mentally as Leader "All this for me! I'm flattered." I took a cautious step backward to the lift and a Hork from each side moved in instantly and grabbed my arms. I laughed and let them keep their appearance of control and authority by not resisting. Leader's visor bored into me and a harsh slightly mechanized voice issued from his helmet, from him. "No-ranked Yeerk Terrus 5633. Associate and team member to Yeerks Serri 481, Heyo 222 and Eliza 388. Due to several acts of treason, insubordination, and the murder of fellow Yeerk, you are sentenced to death by Kandrona starvation."

_Kandrona starvation!_ The grin left me, as did any positive feelings,

I experimentally shook my arms, and the two Horks holding me tightened their grips, while the other two stepped closer. I said as casually as I could to Leader "This," I paused for a second and they unconciously leaned in a fraction. "This is all a misunderstanding brought about by the real Yeerk criminal, Desha." As I spoke I lowered my voice more and more, and they leaned in closer. I prepared to jerk my arms free and escape... Leader put his dracon beam to setting four and said "Enough. You can tell it to the Visser." I relaxed.

_You have no idea how happy I am to oblige._ I stretched my claws and felt the weight of my arm and wrist blades.

I grinned at Leader, who pressed a claw to his helmet and said through a voice communicator "We have detained Terrus 5633 without incident Visser, as well as her accomplices." I heard an almost inaudible voice answer "Good. Bring them in."

_Without incident. So you think darkap. So you think._ I laughed as they took me through the base to the Visser, and to what would most likely be my death, and the death of my friends.

As Eliza and Heyo, accompanied by their guards, fell into step ahead of me and my own, we passed three Taxxon, infested or not, I didn't know or care. But something odd happened. I saw Eliza pat her hand right on one of the things head twice, as if it were her veleek, and run her hand down the thing as she continued past. Nobody else had noticed (or they didn't care), and I gave the back of her head a questioning look, but she stared straight ahead as if nothing had even happened._ Fine._ I resumed thinking about my death that soon would occur.

_Kandrona starvation after all! After EVERYTHING, I'm sentenced to this! I know the stories, I've heard it all in detail. I just never thought I would have the misfortune to experience it myself! And my friends... Serri, Eliza, Heyo..They will die just like me. My TEAM will die. Heyo..what was it he'd said earlier? This is MY little mission...so this is the price of it. I'm still the leader. I'm still in charge...I can still get us all out of this. No plan, nothing but the blades, surrounded. None-violent..._

I stared at the back of Eliza. _Yes. None-violent victory, just this once._

"Leader, would you like to tell me where we're going exactly?" I asked him as I glanced over my shoulder. "No." Despite that I tried again. "Where's the Visser?" Leader didn't even respond this time.

_Okay. Keep the detained ones with as little information as possible. Good plan, Leader. You darkap._

Twenty minutes and many hallways later, our large group stopped infront of a wall. A completely flat surface that didn't quite match up with the rest of the interior. Leader pressed a claw to his helmet again and the ramonite wall expanded to reveal a room I didn't like the looks of.

It was a large room that looked as if it could fit all of us plus about two dozen more Hork guards if need be. Four holographic emitters were placed in a row on a small platform sticking out from the far wall, and infront of it, a large table and three Hork Bajir specific chairs with what seemed to be force field generators beneath them. Set on the table I saw a dracon beam, a ramonite pole, and an unknown spherical device with several wires that ended in patches.

Visser 25 was nowhere to be seen_. It's a trap!_ _Non violent victory will have to wait for another day!_

I hadn't realized I'd stopped moving and had been staring until I was jabbed in the back with a dracon beam. "In. Now." Leader ordered. I stood straight and stepped into the room with alot more confidence than I felt. Right when I was within grabbing distance of the weapons on the table I was pulled back by two of my guards, one of which pointed at a chair. I glared and told him "I'll stand." Left guard squeezed my arm and put his dracon beam to the side of my head.

Eliza and Heyo came up beside me and sat right down before I could warn them what they were getting into. _Darkap!_ The force fields activated, connecting from floor to roof, trapping my friends.

They both gave cries of surprise but didn't try to get out. They knew to do so would be futile. _They could be kept there for long enough to starve!_ I hissed and catching my holders off guard, I crossed both my arms and threw myself backward.

Both left and right gaurds crashed into each others armored bodies with force enough that left guard loosened his grip on me. I yanked my arm free, punched his helmeted skull and snatched his dracon beam from his claws. Right guard reacted and swung his free arm to cut my head off, I ducked and slashed at his chest with my left arm blades, forgetting that he was wearing ramonite armor until I felt my blades bounce off! I heard a rush of air from behind and spun myself forward and around right guard and saw both Leaders arms slam onto the table.

_Right guard _STILL _hasn't let go of me!_

He threw his arm over his shoulder, hoping to catch me in the face with his wrist blade, I dodged and I saw now the eight 'regular' Hork Bajir, the four 'regular' Taxxon, and the two giant Taxxon that in standing were as tall as me!

All of them were coming to join the fight.

I put my dracon beam quickly to right guards shoulder, pulled the trigger and held it for a second. His arm hit the ground._ Free at last!_ Left guard came at me from the side and I shoved Right at him, firing through both their bodies and their armor, then raised my left arm blades to block Leaders attack.

I pushed Leader back a step, and dropped to the ground, then swept my leg inward which didn't slice off his legs but pulled him off his feet. As soon as he hit the ground I leaped onto him, yanked his helmet off and cut his head in half. One of the giant darkap Taxxon rushed toward me from my left and I just leaped backward and thrust out my left arm as it went past. I watched my arm shear through it's whole body and when it ran into a force field encased chair it split open. The other Taxxon immediately rushed past me to feast upon him. And each other.

The two remaining armored Horks on my left standing infront of the eight regular Hork Bajir began firing their dracon beams and I rolled right, over the table, grabbed the metal pole and as I came up I checked my dracon beams Cell capacity and fired off two shots at each of the armored Horks.

All four shots hit and scorched but failed to penetrate the armor, and they kept firing at me. I dodged left and right before I flipped up the table and used it for cover. They stopped firing and I heard several sets of footsteps moving toward me on my left. I kept completely still and gripped the pole. I saw three regular Horks right as they saw me, and I threw myself toward the middle one. The left and right Horks didn't make a move until I'd stabbed the pole through the chest of middle Hork!

I swung the pole around, the back end catching left Hork in the ribs, and middle Hork on the front was thrown into right Hork. Missed dracon fire flashed by, going right through the neck of middle Hork and the upper chest of right Hork, and causing both to drop instantly, middle Hork dragging the pole with him. Left Hork swung at me and I jumped back, which yanked the pole free finally. "Come on you darkap." I teased him. He growled and slashed at me furiously and we exchanged blows so fast I wasn't conciously thinking of what I was doing!

After seconds of this that seemed like minutes (maybe it WAS), he seemed to sense i was a bit slower in my reactions. _I'm getting tired! You won't live long enough to take advantage of this you darkap!_

He slashed for my leg with one arm, and with the other he went to cut me in half. I twirled the pole with one hand, connecting with his arm and redirecting his leg slash, while simultaniously using my free arm to slice his chest open. He came back at me despite the blood gushing out and I jerked my arm up, slicing off HIS arm. He tried again with his remaining bladed arm, and I hit four times in quick succession with the pole, a hit to the leg knocking him down, a smack in the ribs, followed by an overhead strike on his arm, and finally ending with a thrust right between the jaws.

His whole body went slack and I ripped the metal pole back out of his head, then rolled behind the table again. I got a ten second break. _My weapons Cell capacity is almost empty._ I stared at it, then at the ramonite pole.

I tossed my dracon beam aside. _Not enough Cells...and it's not nearly as fun as the pole or blades anyway._

I laughed as I vaulted over the table with the pole in hand and charged straight at the enemies. A low droning noise sounded from behind me that I hadn't noticed before, and all the Horks infront of me looked dead standing.

_Paralyzed by.._FEAR_! That's right! _YES_! Fear me!_ I closed in on the two armored Horks first, hearing an unfamiliar voice from behind me say in surprise, "Visser 25, _**THIS**_ is the Yeerk you spoke of?", and a second unfamiliar voice say "This is the one that has encountered an Andalite and survived?"

I took the words in and ignored them at the same time as I swung the pole at the legs of armored Hork 1. The other slashed for me and we clashed blades, armored Hork 1 brought up his dracon beam, but I never gave him the chance to fire. I shoved forward against the arm of armored Hork 2, pushing his arm and whole body away, while bringing up the pole which knocked armored Hork 1s arm up, sending the dracon beam to the ceiling.

"I see why this one has given you trouble, Visser 25."

"She would do well with me on the Taxxon homeworld. Or Xandar! Anywhere she is needed!"

Again I ignored the voices.

I caught the dracon beam, turned the setting to maximum, grabbed armored Hork 2 by his arm and dragged him infront of me, lined up with the other armored Hork. I kicked them both back into the remaining five Horks, saw the hand held explosives on the retreating chests of the armored Horks..."STOP!" Eliza shouted from behind me.

_Too late!_ I pulled the trigger and the universe was ripped apart.


	13. Chapter 12: Aftermath Part 2

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 12: Aftermath part 2

I again came out of unconciousness today. I was freed again from the black oblivion. Again. _This is getting annoying!_

I couldn't feel the dracon beam or the ramonite pole in either of my hands. _Great._

_Where are the enemies? Did I kill them all? Where's the Visser? Who did those voices belong to? What happened_- A flash of me firing a set to maximum dracon beam at explosives! _The high energy levels caused them to go off! The fail safes didn't work._ Fail safes on the hand held explosives are simple force fields and highly compact ramonite metal. They can resist impacts and beatings, even dracon fire. To a point. I was burned and bruised, my whole body's front was burned.

I stood up anyway.

"She is back, Council Member!" _Council Member?_ I heard the rustling and charging of several weapons. I heard Eliza and Heyo give noises of relief from my right.

All my senses came back, and I noticed the situation that I was in. The first thing I noticed was the fact that the hidden ramonite door, along with the ENTIRE WALL, on the far end of the room across from me, had been completely vaporized. The edges of the jagged wall pieces were heated red, and there were black scorch marks and furrows along the floor and ceiling.

The second thing I noticed were the scattered pieces of flesh, bone, and the splattered blood all over the room. What I observed next was the two dozen Hork Bajir with dracon beams lined up in an upside down U formation infront of me. My gaze moved closer to myself again and found the table upright again, within five step distance. The holoemitters were on it.

They were activated. A Hork Bajir in gold and black armor with no helmet, a familiar Hork Bajir, and an unknown species who wore a concealing red robe with a hood. _The gold Hork has to be..I don't know. The other is definitely a Council Member. The familiar Hork, Visser 25._

Standing a little way off on the right side of the table, was Desha. She had a dracon beam.

"Greetings, Terrus. I hope you are-" The Visser said in a voice laced with malice. "Don't waste my time, Visser." I spat out.

The gold armored Hork seemed to radiate delight. "She indeed is quite different! Very skilled as well! Council Member Vortim, Visser 25, I greatly wish for this one to join me in security on the Taxxon homeworld!"

Visser 25 shouted furiously "NO! I will not allow that! This Yeerk, this TRAITOR, WILL BE-"

The Council Member, Vortim, raised a hand, which stopped the Visser dead. "The Council has heard your concerns, Visser 25. Rest assured, this Yeerk will be appropriately dealt with. Leave us now, Esplin 9466. I am sure you have much to do."

_Esplin 9466. So I have a name for the head of Taxxon homeworld security now._ "Yes, Council Member. But I wish to know the outcome of this event!" His holographic image vanished.

I threw a glare at Dehsa and tried to get her to meet my eyes. For a split second she did, and what I saw was something I didn't expect to see. Guilt. Raw guilt and sorrow. But also, I saw the light, the spark. She was figuring out, or planning, something. Or both!

_Whatever she's thinking, it's either bad for me or bad for the Visser_- "Let Heyo out." She whispered.

Visser 25's furious gaze snapped from me to her, and his voice softened noticably. "He is an associate of this treasonous Yeerk, my little veleek. As is the missing Serri 481. I am sorry to say that...They will die."

Desha didn't react, and instead stared at the floor.

"Terrus 5633. Kindly tell us of the recent events that have caused these charges to be brought against you." Said Vortim.

I examined him a bit more closely. Small, smaller than me. Maybe about the size of Desha. But..no tail as far as i could see, no..the hood.._Vortim isn't in a Hork-Bajir, a Taxxon, a..What IS he? With the loose fitting cloak it's impossible to determine body mass or shape! And his voice..When he spoke Galard, it was different. I don't know how but it is!_

"Is this trial only for me..or for my..associates as well?" I asked carefully.

"That all depends on you, Terrus." He said amusedly. "Now, tell us what brought about these charges. You will have three days to make your case. Though, you will likely starve before then." _He knows I only have about a day left!_

"Thank you for making things clear, Council Member Vortim." I took a moment to gather my thoughts, and began to recite everything that had happened today, my failure to pass the training, the unlawful attack by Heyo and his minions, the fight on the training room floor and how I'd recruited Heyo, The 'test' set to the opposing teams by the Visser, my questioning the Visser afterward about Andalites (I didn't say it was my host that had informed me of them), the Vissers reaction...

"He was afraid. Afraid of failure. Afraid that Andalites HAD survived! Afraid, enraged, that I, a mere trainee, had DARED to question him. I had defied him for the good of our Empire. Something he still can't grasp." I added with a hint of anger.

"Visser 25's fear, and perhaps, incompetence, blinded him to a VERY good opportunity. For himself and the Empire."

The Council Member called visser 25 incompetent!

Visser 25 growled and his arms shook, as if he wanted to somehow cut off the head of the holographic projection of the Council Member. "Vortim 113, you may be on the Council, you may have surpassed me, YET, it is I who has far better a reputation than you! It is I who supplies the Empire YOU lord over with competent soldiers! Do not forget that!"

_Vortim 113? Visser 25 was surpassed by this Yeerk? They have a history!_ I almost burst out laughing now that I could see that Visser 25 would fair far worse than me in this trial, perhaps even get HIMSELF executed, if I use the right weapons.

"Visser 25, it is a wonder you have succeeded in supplying these competent soldiers when you yourself are incompetent." Council Member Vortim shook with laughter at his own words and added."But of course, it is not you who trains them. It is the work of many other Yeerks. Lower in rank, yet far higher than you due to actions. Young Terrus is correct at that. This is something you have failed to recognize."

"Is this NOT a trial to decide the fate of a traitorous Yeerk? One that killed her fellow soldiers and led her own team down that path?" Visser 25 shouted angrily.

I let out a laugh this time, causing the Visser to glare, and the Council Member to dip his hood discreetly at me.

"There is no advancement without risk, Visser. Council Member, you understand this. I have not met a Yeerk yet, trainee, soldier, sub visser or visser, that has not killed fellows to advance. Yet..." I shot a glare at the Visser before saying with disgust "I HAVE met Yeerks who decide to kill, or tell others to kill, fellow Yeerks..when all those Yeerks are doing is acting for the benefit of the Empire."

Desha looked up at me on that one and I couldn't tell if she wanted me to reveal what I knew, or suspected, about Desha's team in order to punish the Visser, or if she wanted me to stay silent and not get HER in trouble.

_Maybe I can do both..._

The implication wasn't lost on Council Member Vortim. Unfortunately or fortunately. "Young Terrus, I would like for you to..expand upon your last statement. There can be no double meanings at this trial." It was an order phrased as a request.

_But it's not._ "Of course, honored Council Member. I mean only that, after the Viser was enraged about my defiance and attempted to kill me...My team and I stole weapons and equipment, and a ship, and we set out to track down Andalites from the facts and pieces we had put together from the words of the Visser, and the reports we uncovered ourselves."

I glanced at the Visser and Desha, and continued. "The Visser here sent Desha after me and my own team in a stealth modified bug fighter. I do not believe someone as loyal to him as Desha and her team were would have set out on their own as my team had done."

The Council Member only nodded. He could either be actively listening or deep in thought. "Yes...No Yeerk of the Empire would dare order his most loyal team of trainees to hunt down a different team of Yeerks who acted so courageously in order to find and eradicate a few beings who are our ultimate enemies." Visser 25 looked dead. _Yes. You're on trial too._

"What happened next on this self conceived mission, young Terrus?"

"We were chased by Desha-" I started, before the Council Member cut me off. "You are referring to this, yes?"

His hologram was instantly replaced by video recordings from an unknown source. It was of our chase! But how?

"Yes. I was referring to that. Council Member, how do you-" His holographic form came back and he said amusedly "That was quite difficult to document. You are a good pilot. As is Desha."

I gave a grin and said "Well, I wasn't the one flying the ship. That was my teams pilot, Serri 481. I'd like to warn you, he will most likely come barging in at any moment now in order to 'rescue' me."

Visser 25 exploded again "**THERE! YOU SEE! HER FELLOW TRAITOR, AS SHE ADMITS, WILL THRAUGHT A TRIAL HELD BY A COUNCIL MEMBER! EXECUTE HER NOW VORTIM, OR I WILL DO IT MYSELF**-"

Council Member Vortim was unphased by the Vissers madness and merely said "Thank you. Yet, There are still two matters that need to be discussed. One, what happend in the mists. Two, the actions of Visser 25 and his...veleek."

_The Visser is going to get himself killed! Oh what irony! Arrest ME to get me killed, and instead HE DIES!_

Desha finally spoke. "I am not his veleek." she whispered, so quietly I barely heard her, even in the already silent room.

The Council Members hood moved slowly to look at her, and he said in a curious tone "Is that so? You are the one that was witnessed attempting to shoot down the ship that was occupied by young Terrus here. That is blatant treason. Far different than Terrus's actions herself."

She looked at me with those eyes, those sorrow filled eyes..._Dapsen! I'll help her get out of this. If only to get her myself later on some mission somehow._ "Desha was only doing what I **SHOULD HAVE DONE**. Following orders, Council Member."

I couldn't read anything from Council Member Vortim, but after a second of silence he said "Yes...The fool that followed another fool. We cannot blame dear Desha for the attack. To refuse her..controversial orders, would have spelt death."

_Let's get this over with then._"May I continue, Council Member?"

"Yes. That would be much appreciated, as there are still...gaps." He said slowly. "As I said, we went to the mists. We were following leads from the reports we gathered earlier on an Andalite assault. Two ships in that assault, two freighters, for unknown reasons, were merely shot down instead of destroyed. One of these ships crashed in the mists. Now why would our good Visser here want the two biggest ships in that little rabble, that contained the main Andalite ground force no doubt, to be only disabled?"

The Council Member was silent again. "Why indeed." Was all he said.

"Well, I don't want to point claws at anyone. So I will continue telling the events that you so generously are allowing to be told, Council Member. Now, in the mists, my team was a bit seperated, and I came upon Desha and her own team, as well as Serri 481, fighting against none other than one of our ultimate enemies. An Andalite warrior."

The Council Member was motionless, so I continued on again. "The Andalite warrior slaughtered Desha's team, almost killed all of us, but I manipulated the filthy creature by appealing to it's so called 'honor', and it allowed Serri and Desha to leave. I challenged it to a one on one fight-"

"**THIS TRAITOR SPOKE TO AN ANDALITE, BY HER OWN ADMITTANCE! SHE MADE A DEAL WITH IT!**" The Visser yelled in fury.

"If these outbursts continue, Visser 25, I will have you forced into silence." The Council Member stated with a hint of anger, before saying with mild amusement. "The Council maintains the same position on that particular matter as it did those years ago concerning Esplin 9466 and the Andalite named Aldrea. Any charges of treason regarding the Andalite race, in this instance, are cleared of young Terrus."

"Thank you Council Member." I said with a daring grin. _He's been on my side this whole trial. He just showed his hand by clearing me of the most severe charges!_

"Please continue, young Terrus." He ordered.

"As you will it, Council Member Vortim." I replied. _I won't die, not today_. "Where was I? Oh yes, I fought the Andalite. I tricked it by using it's own arrogant nature against itself in order to make it morph into a Hork-Bajir. Elfan- It was a young Andalite. But still something to be feared. Something to be reckoned with. We fought and I bested it. I killed it. It was blinded by it's own pride and arrogance, as all Andalites are."

"After your return to the base, our dear misguided Desha brought all of this to attention." Vortim said. "However, Viser 25 had attempted to have you and your..team..executed before this trial." He waved an arm at the carnage around us.

"Both correct, Council Member." I agreed quickly. Visser 25's holoemitter shut down. _Good riddence to you, Visser._

"You fought..almost perfectly. Your impatience and blood lust gets the better of you, young Terrus." Vortim said in amusement.

"Yes." I said dully. _I know this already!_

"I will discuss all of this with the rest of the Council, and we will reach a decision within a day. I suggest you visit the Pool."

Anger welled up in me again. "Council Member, my team-" "Will be released. And these guards, along with every Yeerk in this facility will stay out of your way." He finished with a laugh. _In this facility...Bad word choice or..is he HERE?_

"Thank you." I said as the guards filed out into the hallway and the forcefields were deactivated, releasing Liz and Heyo.

I remained standing where I was, even as my friends came to stand beside me. "Council Member Vortim, I would like to make a request." Again, I couldn't read anything from him. "Ask." He said simply.

I glanced at Desha. "I want her freed of all charges, if any are against her. She would make a valuable addition to my team in our service to the Empire." Desha looked at me and I saw a small smile cross her face. She knew as well as I did that neither of us had any intention of being on the same team.

I waited several painful seconds before the Council Member replied "It is done." "Terrus, we should go..." Eliza said hesitantly. "Not just yet Eliza. Wait, Council Member, I wish to make an additional request." Council Member Vortim was silent before saying slowly "If it will benefit you and your..team, then it will benefit our great Empire. So, I will grant your request, whatever it may be."

"Our cargo class bug fighter. I want upgraded weapons, shields, thrusters, Kelbrid missles too. If possible. We could settle for missles that the Xandar inhabitants make though. Also, a new under turret." Heyo nudged me and I glared at him. "What Heyo?"

"Ask for more chairs please. I wasn't very fond of being thrown around during evasive manuevers." He said with a growl.

"What he said, Council Member." I said cheerfully. "That will also be done, young Terrus." Vortim answered in amusement.

His holo-emitter deactivated.

Heyo patted me on the shoulder and laughed. "Thanks. Not just for saving your life and ours from starvation and torture. Thank you, Terrus...What you did for Desha..."

"If you dare try to hug me I'll slice your head off. But you're welcome you darkap." I told him with a big grin as Eliza did give me a hug, being careful of the blades. "Eliza, you don't even need to hug me. I know you're grateful."

"Terrus, Eliza, Heyo..." She said to us in that soft almost a whisper voice she had. She stood there uncertainly before moving closer. "Thank you Terrus." She held out a hand and I took it briefly before letting go. Desha stood there staring at me for a second before she took in a breath and then hugged me faster than I could react.

"Get off me you little darkap," I said with a laugh as I pushed her off me. "Yes I saved everyone I'm a big hero. Get over it. We're going to the Pool now like the Council Member suggested."

Desha gave another of her rare smiles and said slowly "No...You and your team are." I glared at her suspiciously and asked "Don't you only have a day left like we do? What do you think you could possibly do?" She just stared, then gave a smile and went off into the hallway. _Fine. Bye for now, Desha._ "I hate that Yeerk."

"Well, I like her." Heyo said quietly.

"WHAT? I thought you hated and feared her!" I exclaimed in surprise and confusion. "Not anymore." He said firmly.

_This darkap makes no sense at all!_ "You said she was like eight of me, you hate her-" "I DON'T!" He shouted at me angrily. "Terrus, stop. Please. If Heyo likes Desha that's fine!" Eliza said sharply, as if I had offended HER as well somehow.. "Sorry Heyo." I told him, working around the words, as if I were a grub again and just learning Galard. He ignored me and pushed me sideways as he went out into the hall, the way Desha had gone, leaving Eliza and I alone in the room.

"Sorry..." I said again, meaning it this time. Eliza smiled at me and said "It's okay, you just weren't really thinking straight, like you almost always never do!" I couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm sorry, Eliza. I didn't mean anything about you and-" It hit me at the exact same time it did Eliza. "Serri!" We exclaimed at the same time. "He was supposed to rescue me wasn't he? Not that I ever need saving!" I said angrily. She gave me a smile and said "That was the hope, yes...Let's go then. We might find him wandering the halls!"

"Wait, I need to grab something first." I told her quickly as I looked around the room for... Yes! I grinned as I retrieved the bloody, gore streaked and slightly burnt ramonite pole from beneath the table, and walked back to Eliza, carressing it with my claws. She burst out laughing, causing me to laugh as well.

"Now we can go." I said with a grin.


	14. Chapter 13: Interval

Chronicles Of Terrus Chapter 13: Interval

It had been three days. The decision had been final. Visser 25 was allowed to remain in his position as insane overseer of the training facility simply because "There is no Yeerk ready to replace him. Yet." As Council Member Vortim had said. My team and I weren't sentenced to Kandrona Starvation. Because while we were the most unruly group of Yeerks ever known and our methods were borderline crazy, we were loyal to the Empire, and there was no place or Sub Visser we could be assigned to. Yet. So we were told that we would be allowed to roam around this planet, or any planet, and do whatever we wished until the time came when we were needed. Actually, we were really tasked with hunting down Andalites, but that's how I took the order.

Which is why we were skimming across the landscape, testing out our ship, and having the time of our lives. I was manning the under turret controls. "Would you keep the ship on a straight path please? I can't hit any of these darkap giant trees!" I shouted to my right at Serri, who said without looking "If you want to crash and explode miss, then I will be happy to fly on a straight path. And how can you not hit any of the trees? They're massive!" I growled and looked back at the video feed from the transmitter sitting atop the turret barrel. Giving me a first person view, as if I were the turret. I fired again at a passing Hork Bajir made platform on a branch that was ten times the size of our ship, missed, and growled again.

Serri turned the ship on it's right side and flew completely around a seemingly never ending tree trunk, going up and down, dodging the smaller tree branches that were about the size of our ship. _I'm going to blow a hole straight through one of these darkap branches!_ I fired rapidly and wildly in frustration, letting loose volleys of dracon cannon at everything and anything, and I dimly heard Heyo say from the weapons station behind me, "If she keeps doing that the turret will melt itself. Not right now but if she does it for as long as I think she wants to...Hours I think."

Serri slowed the ship to a stop and then descended to land gently on the valley floor, though still with a slight lurch. I sat still, seething, raging silently. _I'm the _**BEST!** _I AM! Why can't I do this?_ I slumped back into my chair and angrily deactivated the controls of my turret with a slap to the console. "This is a waste of time!" I shouted in frustration. "I'm leaving this darkap ship." I muttered as I unstrapped myself from the harness and headed to the back of the ship, where the boarding ramp was. "Terrus, it isn't so important." Heyo shouted after me. I ignored him, grabbed my ramonite pole from the casing I'd attached to the wall, and leaped out of the ship before the ramp was even all the way down. I waited for it to close, and took a deep breath.

_Now what?_ I looked around at everything, the giant darkap trees, the smaller darkap trees, the bushes, the inclines and depressions. I heard the indiscernable droning and howling, the sound of movement...and was overwhelmed. _I can't see any of these enemies! I could be attacked from above, beside, anywhere..Even from _BENEATH_!_ I stood there, not sure what to do, until a rustle of movement from a bush caught my attention. I cautiously walked toward it and twirled the pole a few times. "Come out if you want to live, you darkap." I said loudly. The bush shook, as if in response and I laughed. "Come out. Now. I'll let you live. Promise."

I got closer to it, close enough to touch, and something about the size of my torso leaped out at me! It hit my stomach and I fell back, landing on my rear, with the thing still on my chest! It had an elongated body, was black furred, it had three legs on each side ending in sharp claws, two eyes on the head, two more sitting on stalks like an Andalite, and had a mouth structure similar to my own. It was all snarls and growls, and many many sharp looking teeth.

I held the thing at bay with one hand and smacked it in the side of the head with my pole, not very hard, and pushed it off of me. It came back at me and I jumped to my feet. "Back away, darkap." I told it with mild irritation. _This thing can't hurt me unless it gets those teeth around my throat._ It charged at me and bit into my foot, drawing blood, and I hissed and kicked it away. "OK maybe you can hurt me." The darkap thing came at me again and I thrust the pole down into the ground, and the creature ran right into it. I laughed and flicked the pole up, flinging the beast away. It snarled at me again, but stayed back. "I'm the one enemy you can't beat." A stalk eye looked at the ship, and another was scanning the area around it, while the two main eyes were on me.

I dropped the pole and walked toward the creature slowly. It started backing away and let out a growl. "Do you want to be my veleek? I think you do." It held it's ground but still continued to make threatening noises at me. "Who do you think you're fooling? You can't possibly kill me!" I told it with a laugh. Now right infront of it, I crouched down and stared at the thing. "You know, I think you could use a tail. A tail with a blade on the end of it, like the Andalites." It snarled at me as I reached a hand out cautiously, and when I ran a single claw across it's back, it lowered itself to the ground and was quiet. I grinned at it "So you do want to be my veleek. I wonder what you eat. Other creatures? You seemed fine with biting me."

"Everyone is fine with biting you." Heyos voice said from behind me. The creature moved both stalk eyes to focus on him over my shoulder, and growled. I laughed and ran a claw over it's back again. "Or stabbing me. or shooting at me. Or slicing me open." I said to Heyo without turning around. "What is that?" He asked, all curiosity. _Like me sometimes...This darkap..I like him._ "I don't know what it is Heyo, but it's vicious, fearless, smart, and fast. Everything you aren't." I responded, only half joking. I moved my hand up and touched a stalk, and the creature flinched and pulled it's head back. "Well, I was going to say that it actually sounds like you..." Heyo muttered. I whipped my head around and stared at him. "What?" I said in confusion. He took a few steps forward off the ramp and waited for it to close. "The...creature..It sounds like you..." _What is this darkap going on about?_ "We've tried to kill each other alot. this thing only tried to kill me once." I said, stating fact. He took a couple more steps toward me, and crouched down next to me. The creature looked at him, then at me, and back to Heyo again, all with the main eyes. "He's an okay darkap." I told the creature as I patted it's head gently. It stared at me with the stalk eyes, but kept it's head, and therefore the sharp teeth, facing Heyo.

"When you..recruited me...In the training room...You were playing with me. The fight..." He said, going from quiet to loud._ He's shaking!_ Even more confused, I said "And on the ship...?" He stared directly into my eyes and said "You were playing with me then too. And then again in the mists when I had my blade to you." I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I... "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I shouted indignantly. "Is it?" He said quietly. _I was only..I...I let him hold my arm...I like him._ I punched him in the face and jumped to my feet, ignoring the creature. Heyo got up slowly, still staring at me. "You're...You're a darka-" I stopped dead when he leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine, and hugged me to him. Everything was spinning and I felt everything and nothing, anger, happiness, sadness, love...Outrage.

I slipped my dracon beam out of the holster and pressed the barrel against his scaly disgusting gut.

He let go of me and took a few quick steps back with his hands held out away from his body. "Okay, my mistake. I shouldn't have done that." He said, fearing for his life._ As he should! As ANYONE should when they encounter me!_ _I like him...What? NO!_ I made sure my weapon was on the lowest setting, and I pointed it at his ugly face. "Terrus okay...I get it that was not acceptable..I'll just..." I walked forward, making him take steps back. The darkap still kept blubbering! "If you let me live I won't ever do it again! I promise!" He said in terror.

His back hit the ships exterior, and I kept going toward him until the barrel was pressed to his throat. _How DARE he? To do that to me, and then EXPECT ME TO GIVE MERCY?_ "Terrus..." Heyo half moved his arms toward me, and I raised my free arm to his throat, pressing my blades to it, right beneath my dracon beam. I leaned in toward him and hissed, followed by a whisper with more fury in it than I'd ever known. "Never. Do that. Again. Or I will mutilate you in more ways than you think possible." He brought his left arm in quickly, and I grabbed hold of it with my free arm. "Never speak of this again. And NEVER do it again."

"I promise Terrus I won't! Both of those..I won't!" He said fearfully. I smiled at him. "Good. Get back on the ship." I took my dracon beam and my blades away from his throat and he responded with a little "Okay! I'm going now!" I watched him enter the ship before I spun around, remembering the creature, and found that it was still sitting there. "Hello my veleek." I said as I went over to it again, holstoring my weapon on the way. "I take back what I said. He's not an okay darkap. No he's not." _Darkap...I wonder_...I heard the ramp lower behind me, and I pointed a claw over my shoulder. "Darkap." I said to the thing with as much hostility as I could manage. "Darkap, GAFRASH!" The stalk eyes followed the direction of my claw, and the creature growled. I looked into the main eyes and said again. "DARKAP GAFRASH!" It definitely got the message this time, because it sprang up and took off past me, snarling and growling it's face off.

I snatched my pole off the ground, turned around and ran up the ramp after the thing._ It responds to Hork Bajir words!_ As I came up into the ship I saw the creature hanging onto Heyo's tail by it's teeth, the latter trying to shake it off and saying "I don't want to have to cut off the tail AGAIN!" I saw Serri laughing to death from his pilots chair, and Eliza TRYING not to laugh and saying to Heyo "Just don't kill it please!" I ran up to my distractions and grinned at them, ignoring Heyo. I could tell by their eyes that they knew it had SOMETHING to do with me. "It's my veleek!" I said instead of greeting them. Serri stopped laughing long enough to say "Very appropriate. A vicious killer that takes on things far greater than itself and wins." I slapped him playfully and asked "So you think it will beat Heyo?" He hit me back and replied "Anyone can beat Heyo. He's a coward." Eliza frowned at that and glanced at me but I couldn't tell what she meant this time. "Should I go save my veleek?" I asked. "Yes!" She answered instantly with an exasperated sigh. I looked over at Heyo and saw he now didn't care if he lost his tail again, and was trying to slice the creature to pieces with his wrist blades.

"STOP! Don't you DARE kill my veleek you darkap!" I shouted as I started over to him. He stopped dead and stared right at me. Completely afraid, completely compliant. My distractions were dead silent behind me. "Felan Thuri." I said to the creature. _Let go._ It removed it's hold on Heyo's tail and lowered itself to the ground again. "There. Heyo-" In the next instant the whole ship was filled with a flashing red light, and an extremely loud and irritating alarm was sounding. I pushed Heyo back against the wall and spun around to glare questioningly at Serri. "Is this bad?" I shouted at him over the alarm. "YES! I advise you all to brace yourselves!" He shouted as he slapped the thrusters to full and pulled straight back on the controls, launching the ship straight up very very quickly. I instantly was slammed down against the deck, along with Heyo and Eliza.

_I HATE THIS! I'm HELPLESS! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON I CAN'T KILL THE ENEMY_- A thought intruded upon my current line of thoughts._ It's not like I can even hit anything anyway._ I screamed in frustration. At the ship, at the situation, at myself and my own failings. And I heard two very fast moving objects rush past the ship, and shortly after, two unmistakable explosions from below. "Eliza get on the console and give me information on the enemy and keep me updated. Shield levels, weapons stock, everything. Heyo, forward dracon beams." Serri rattled out quickly. I scrambled to my feet as the other two did and I started toward the cannon weapon station, but stopped when I heard a low whining noise. I looked down and saw the creature, and I threw my pole aside and picked up my veleek. As the ship accelerated I went to the large crates in the back of the ship and put my veleek inside one full of Cells. "You'll be safe here, my veleek." I told it as I put the top back on and locked it. _I _HOPE_ you'll be safe._

I ran back to the front of the ship and grabbed the back of my stations chair, jumping into it and strapping myself in. _I don't care if I can't shoot! I'm sure as YAOLIN going to TRY! What...? Yaolin? Where did THAT come from? Whatever!_ Serri, to my right, looked over at me and nodded, but looked on his own right side when Eliza tapped his shoulder. "What?" He asked as he threw the ship into evasive maneuvers around a medium sized tree and all it's branches. She frowned and tapped a few keys and looked pointedly at his console. I leaned over and looked at it myself to see- _DAPSEN!_ "It's her!" I shouted angrily. Serri glanced down quickly and cursed himself. "What's she doing here?" "I don't know! Why would I know?" I yelled at him. More to hear myself yell than anything else. I was mad. I was infuriated! _I saved that little darkap from _STARVATION AND THIS IS HOW SHE REPAYS ME? Heyo yelled from the far right of the ship, "SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!"

I gave a long drawn out growl, and answered him. "It's Desha." Heyo slammed his fist against the wall and shouted with pain, EMOTIONAL pain, "What are we going to do?" Serri took the ship down to fly dangerously low to the valley floor, and didn't answer Heyo. "What are we going to do?" Heyo repeated. Eliza didn't answer either. The duty of answering fell to me. "She's going to die, Heyo." I said, surprising myself with how gentle I'd sounded. How I lowered my voice, How I hadn't wanted to hurt him any more than that would..._NOT THIS AGAIN!_


	15. Chapter 14: Time For A Change

Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 14: Time For A Change

-Several minutes after initial attack-Exact location: Unknown valley-

"Heyo, stay where you are!" I yelled at him. "But-" "LISTEN TO ME HEYO. STAY. THERE!" I screamed at him, almost BEGGING! Desha jumped at me with arm blades going for my legs, I flicked the pole, intercepting her attack. We were a raging storm, something nobody else would want to get into. I swung for Desha's head with my arm blades while bringing the pole around to hit her ribs, and she dodged by simply dropping to the ground, as if dead, then grabbed hold of my legs with her feet claws and pulled me off my own feet. I growled as I landed hard on the dirt, and as soon as I did, Desha was on me. Slashing, stabbing, punching and I was doing everything to keep from being killed. Throughout our struggle I didn't realize she was screaming things at me. One thing in particular was a shock. "Heyo is MINE, NOT YOURS! YOU STOLE HIM! I WILL GET HIM BACK AND KILL YOU TERRUS! YOU TRICKED HIM INTO HOLDING YOU-" I swung the pole hard and it connected with the side of her head, knocking her off me and shutting her up.

"I NEVER TRICKED HIM INTO ANYTHING! HE DID IT HIMSELF! YOU'RE JEALOUS DESHA, ANGRY AND JEALOUS BECAUSE MAYBE HE CHOSE ME INSTEAD OF YOU!" I screamed back as I got to my feet and slammed the pole down on her face as she tried to get up herself, brutalizing her face. Remarkably, she didn't stay down from that! She threw her arm out and stabbed her elbow blade straight through my ankle and sliced off my right foot with the wrist blades of her other arm, then she rolled away from me and got up. She smiled despite her bloody smashed in face, and laughed at my stump as it gushed blood. She raised her arm up, showing that she still had my foot impaled on her elbow blade. The claws were twitching. The foot was streaming blood too. "Terrus-" Heyo started before I screamed "NOT NOW HEYO!", and threw myself at Desha. I attacked with more rage and more speed than I'd ever known before, punching, slashing, and smacking her with the pole three times for every one attack from her blades.

I stood on the stump, ignoring all the urges to scream in pain, to give up, to DIE, and I kept attacking, making Desha give ground and backpedal quickly. She sliced me four times, on the arm, the ribs, the leg, and on my neck, but I didn't pay the wounds any mind. I stabbed forward with the pole but she twisted out of the way and sliced off my right hand as I lost balance on my leg stump and fell forward. I crashed into Desha, spurting out blood from my arm all over her, and taking her and myself to the ground again.

"DIE ALREADY!" She screamed at me as I stepped on her chest, trying to get up with my leg stump. I growled because she sliced off more of it, at the knee this time! I fell atop her, putting all my weight into my elbow blade as I did so. "You little Scretin! Feel this!" I shouted as I drove my elbow blade into her throat. She screamed out air and blood as it went all the way through and stuck into the ground, then screamed no more. She didn't move anymore. I laid atop her for seconds or minutes or hours, and finally tried to get up. I can't do this...I'm..."Heyo..." I said as loud as I could, which was a bit above a whisper. I laid there and blacked out and in again a couple times, hearing footsteps coming toward me, the distorted faint voice of Heyo, my being shaken...A Yeerk coming out of the ear of the host that I had my head rested next to..."Terru- Get out of your- Desha lived-" I couldn't even respond, I...How long am I here..? I wasn't even aware of lying on anything, it was as if I were floating in mid air somehow, or...falling...moving so fast... Skimmers...A fight on the ship...Desha...How am I here? Where am I? I blacked out one more time, and I remembered.

-Memory-Several minutes ago-Cargo bug fighter-

"What are we going to do?" Heyo asked in distress. The duty of answering fell to me. "She's going to die, Heyo." I said, surprising myself with how gentle I sounded. How I lowered my voice, How I hadn't wanted to hurt him any more than that would.._.NOT THIS AGAIN_! "NO!" Heyo shouted in anguish. _He loves her! But he_- "I won't let this happen. Serri, stop the ship! Terrus DON'T fire on her!" He yelled, panicked and scared and angry and...Determined. The ship flew almost straight up, then went speeding back down to turn on it's side to fly between two smaller trees and again skim the valley floor. I watched two missles slam into each tree, causing them to fall over and have that process speeded up by Desha's ship ramming past them ruthlessly. She fired with her forward dracon beams and Serri swerved the ship left and right to dodge, but still we were being hit more times than we were dodging! "I'm taking her out." I said calmly. I moved the riticule over Desha's foward viewport, directly over the blurry body of Desha, and opened fire.

Three volleys of cannon round slammed into her forward shields, and the explosions from the impacts got through a bit, making black furrows in her view-port and the frame. "YES! THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER! I'll never say another bad thing about our overlords again!" I shouted in delight. Finally an upgrade I can actually physically see that works! Who cares about engine or shield upgrades? I have CANNONS! "Missiles..." I muttered to myself, "Serri do we have the missiles? I want to give this little _muragg_ something special." I looked over at him, annoyed at not getting a response, then looked at Eliza. "Liz, use your fancy tactical console to trade out cannons for missles please." A sad little "Okay.." was all she said. I looked at my consoles weapon indicator and saw the cannons image flash red, and a second later go dull as a prompt box appeared. I read it out loud, astonished at the stupidity of it! "You have chosen to change your weapon type. You have selected 'unknown missle varient'. Would you like to continue using the cannons, or equip 'unknown missle varient'- YES I WOULD LIKE TO USE THE MISSILES WHAT KIND OF STUPID QUESTION IS THIS? IF I PICK MISSLES YOU BET YOUR DARKAP REAR I WANT TO USE MISSLES!"

I angrily stabbed my claw at the 'equip new weapon' button and waited a second before the missle icon glowed red. "Let's do thi-" I let out a yell as the ship went in a complete backward loop, making me be held up only by the restraints for a few seconds until the ship scraped the ground as it leveled out again. "Don't you dare destroy my turret AGAIN!" I shouted at Serri. "I advise you to fire now, miss. Desha is now directly in front of us." He responded calmly. Time to die Desha.

I held the trigger down, swept the reticle over Desha's left and right engines, and let go. Four missiles streaked forward, two went to Desha's left engines and the other two missiles at her right engines. She went left around a giant tree, then swerved right again and climbed straight up into the air with the missiles in tow, and Serri making _US_ be in tow as well. I watched, captivated, as the missiles all hit their targets above us. Shrapnel rained down to slam against our front shields and Serri weaved around the bigger pieces and slowed to a halt, still facing the ship straight up. I peered forward as the smoke cleared away, revealing that Desha's ship was flying up still, but on pure momentum. "It'll come down again. Be ready to move the ship out of it's way Serri." I said absent mindedly. "Yes miss..." He replied, equally as absent minded. In the silence I realized that Heyo was silently saying "no no no no no no no...", and when I looked over at him, he was CRYING!

_I did this to him_...I unstrapped myself, pushed the weapon controls away and climbed over to Heyo, using the consoles and chairs as handholds. I got next to him and hugged him from the side, (more to keep myself from falling to the back of the ship than to really HUG HIM) patting his shoulder and just holding him tight. I looked over my shoulder at my distractions, who didn't say any words. But I saw shock, amusement, and...pride. _Are they proud of me?_ Heyo stopped full on crying and subsided into just silent sobs. "Come on you darkap. We're going on a trip." I said, laughing half heartedly as I sliced off his seat straps and pulled him out of his chair. We both fell back to the bottom of the ship, but he slammed into the crates, and I landed flat against the wall. I lost my breathe on impact and felt even more dazed as the back of my scaly Hork skull met metal.

Serri announced from above "Desha's ship is past us now miss!" A pause and a hiss, and I looked up and saw through the ship, through the view-port, Desha. Desha with a dracon beam hurtling straight at our view-port headfirst. "Does she EVER die?" I screamed in sudden rage. A second before impact, Desha fired and held the dracon beam on, and it was on setting ten! The viewport had a massive hole burned through it and I rolled left as the continuous beam flew past me and blew a huge hole in the wall! I saw this unfold in slow motion, my minds way of comprehending and allowing for reactions. Desha slashed down, nicking Serri's neck as she went by, half way down the ship's interior she flipped around so she was falling feet first, and when she was passing right by me, our eyes met. I didn't like what was in her eyes at all.

She grabbed the edge of the hole in the wall, let the dracon beam fall toward the sky, and sprang herself back up, then came down on her feet next to me. "Hello Terrus." She whispered in complete and utter fury as she looked down on me. I rolled toward Desha, knocking her off her feet, giving myself a few precious seconds of life, and time enough to switch to the combat mindset. I got to my feet right as she did, and I immediately jumped toward her, opening the fight with a bold kick to the chest with the hope of knocking her over to the hole and down to her splattering death. She simply moved left and watched as I skidded on the smooth wall metal, almost going out of the ship myself! I spun back around and slashed for her ribs, but she blocked it and pushed me left against the deck. I swung my arm and ripped a gash in her stomach, letting alot of blood run free. I swung again for the same spot, hitting my mark and cutting even deeper, grabbed Desha's arm as she swung for me, then locked arm blades with her. "Why are you doing this?" I asked her as I spun us around so she was pressed up against the wall instead of me. "Funny you should ask," She whispered "That's exactly what I intend to find out-" I stabbed my knee blade up into her gut, pinning her to the wall. Blood poured out onto my leg and I was momentarily fascinated. I heard Serri say something from above, but I didn't pay it any mind.

Desha slashed me in the chest and shoved me back, unlodging my knee blade from her, then turned and leaped right over the hole. She hung in mid air for a split second, and then the ship leveled out. I fell left onto the deck, Desha flew forward still and crashed to the floor, then the crates fell on top of her, along with Heyo and the Skimmers. I dashed over to the wall and grabbed my pole, then made it back over to Desha to find that she was stuck under everything. "Heyo. Don't move." I said firmly. "Why? What's-" He stopped when he looked down and realized Desha was beneath him. "You're going to kill her Terrus!" He exclaimed, as if this was news to him. "Yes. I am." I said quietly.

I raised the pole over my head and brought it crashing down on her back, again and again and again, each time she cried out, each time I hit harder. Each time, Heyo flinched but didn't move. I stabbed the pole right through her back and she screamed. "I'm going to die." She whispered sadly. "Yes." I said, feeling nothing. I ripped the pole out of her back and stabbed it down again, and right when it was about to hit the side of her head, everything exploded outward. There was no rush of air or heat or anything, it wasn't an explosion from one of the handheld explosives, it was an explosion of RAGE! Of strength. My pole richocheted off a crate instead of going through her head. Desha rose up and Heyo hit the wall, the crates and equipment flew forward and slammed into me, knocking me back against a wall as well! Desha put a dracon rifle onto her belt, grabbed a Skimmer with both hands, ran left and then just stood there, staring out at the rushing by landscape for a second. She looked over at me with defiance, with pure rage, and I threw the ramonite pole at her as hard as I could- "DESHA!" Heyo shouted in a mix of anger and sadness. She jerked back, and the pole went through her shoulder, out the other side and kept going until it stabbed into the wall next to Heyo. Desha gave me one last glare and jumped out of the ship.

Dapsen! "Heyo grab a Skimmer, get my pole and get over here!" I shouted at him. He obeyed very quickly. I could tell he wanted to get to Desha as much as I did. But for different reasons. I grinned as he dropped the Skimmer at my feet and slapped the control pad to my arm. I slung the pole across my back before I stepped onto the Skimmer, locked my feet in place by way of the shield generator, and powered the thrusters up. "Get on, Heyo!" I said impatiently. He stepped on so we were chest to chest, and he put his arms around my neck tentatively. I rolled my eyes and pushed the middle holo-circle to the top of the little screen, and we rocketed out of the ship.

We flew forward through the air, not falling nearly as fast as we should have, but still fast enough to kill if we hit the valley floor. We fell for what seemed like forever, and I had a little fun on the way down. Heyo was screaming his darkap head off as I backflipped us over and over again in mid air as we fell. He screamed even more when he realized I was laughing my head off. "WHERE'S DESHA?" He screamed at me over the rushing wind and my insane laughter. I stopped laughing (and backflipping), and put the thrusters to full blast again. I leaned sideways on the Skimmer, making us strafe left- My legs went up into my head as the Skimmer landed on a giant tree trunk that could have had three bug fighters lined up across it and still would have had room for more. "I don't know where Desha is! Look around! I'm busy!" I yelled at him, a bit late. A beam flashed toward us from a branch to my right and I moved left, avoiding the shot that had been intended for my back, but received it on the foot instead. _Maybe I should just push Heyo off. He's slowing me down!_

Four more dracon beam attacks flashed by, all of them barely missing, and I sped toward the edge of the branch. _Come on MOVE!_ Another beam streaked by, which hit the rear thrusters on the Skimmer, and I lost speed. _NO!_ "Why are you stopping? She's going to kill us!" Heyo yelled at me in panic. "I'm not slowing down on purpose you darkap! Look at the melted thrusters beneath you!" I yelled back in anger. We slowed down more and more, and I suffered two hits to the back from a dracon beam despite my evasive maneuvers. "Get off the Skimmer.", I told Heyo as I followed my own words.

I deactivated the foot holders and jumped off to the right, taking Heyo with me, and dodging another shot. We rolled on the ground and I felt his blades cut across my chest and arms, and I pushed him off and sprinted full speed for the branches edge. "Terrus wait!" He shouted from behind me. I looked back and saw Desha infront of him. Her wounds were healed again. She'd had time to stay still and wait for them to heal. She had the dracon rifle. I skidded to a halt and turned to face her fully from across the distance. For the first time, despite us being five bug fighters distance apart, I heard Desha raise her voice. "If you come closer to me or Heyo I'll burn every limb from that body of yours and make you suffer hours of torture."

I laughed and shouted back "Do you think you HAVE hours to do what you want to do here?" I casually began walking toward her as I continued speaking. "Think about it, Desha. My two good friends will find us soon, and then vaporize you with one little shot from the ship. You've thrown the mercy of the Council back in their faces! You've thrown MY mercy back in my face!" _Not close enough to attack yet..._ "Shut up!" She shouted angrily. Again I laughed at her. "Or what? You'll kill me? I've had that threat my whole little life so far-"

She fired exactly as I'd expected she would, and I twisted my body sideways for a second, letting the beam go past, then began running at her. Desha fired over and over and I dodged them all by throwing myself sideways, jumping over them, and moving my body around them. In three heartbeats I was on her. I slashed for her weapon arm, she blocked and swung for my throat and drove a knee blade to my gut at the same time, but I leaped backward out of range of either attack. Desha was already rushing toward me even as I was flying back through the air and when I landed, she stabbed her claws into my gut and spun me around, then threw me toward Heyo. "Terrus, stop!" He said to me as I skidded across the ground, landing at his feet. I hissed and punched his leg angrily. "Tell that to Desha!" I said indignantly. _The little darkap throws me bodily across a large distance and I get told to stop?_

Our positions were reversed now, and Desha was running at me and Heyo. I grabbed Heyo's hand, but even after he'd pulled me standing again, I didn't let go. He looked at my face and searched my eyes, as if thinking I were about to hurt him and announce that he'd been tricked again. _Not this time, you darkap._ When Desha was almost within attacking distance, I wrapped my arms around Heyo and leaped back, taking us both through the air and over the branches edge. All the while, I watched Desha follow unhesitantly suite. As we fell through the air toward the valley floor I let go of Heyo and kicked him toward the tree's trunk, and he slammed his blades into it and kept sliding down as fast as Desha and I, knowing he could slow down and stop to let us fight it out alone. Like that will happen- Desha slammed into me head first, ramming the blades on her forehead into my chest while slicing my gut with her arms. I grabbed her head and shoved her up off me and punched her in the face, making her go spinning away from me to the left. She stabbed her arm blades into a passing small branch and flung herself around it to come flying back down toward me and I slashed her gut as she sliced into my shoulder. We exchanged clashes and blows and I broke the stale-mate by grabbing her arms in one hand and her throat in the other and spinning us so I was above her, and then kicking myself up out of her reach.

She stabalized herself so she kept falling backside first and brought the dracon rifle to her hip to fire up at me- Heyo slammed into her from the side which sent both of them spinning away from the trunk's trunk and most of the branches. I saw Desha's dracon rifle go spinning away. _Dapsen! How am I going to get them back over here?_ I screamed his name over and over again as the valley floor rushed up to meet us. I saw them both slam into a branch that sent them spiraling back toward the tree's trunk, and we were so close to the bottom of the valley that it prompted me to snag a branch and fling myself over to the trunk as well. Desha and Heyo let go of each other and impaled the tree with their blades as I did the same. They slowed down as I sped up, and I slammed into Desha right as we reached the bottom of the tree, and we rolled across the ground together.

I recovered and on a single roll I got to my feet. A split second later Desha did the same. I saw Heyo start over to us from his position next to the tree trunk, and I grabbed the pole off my back and pointed a claw at him as I yelled "Heyo, stay where you are!" "but-" "LISTEN TO ME HEYO. STAY. THERE!" I screamed at him, almost BEGGING! Desha jumped at me and I flicked the pole down-

-Present time-Location: Unknown valley, Cargo bug fighter-

My awareness came back. "...I was unconscious again..." I muttered, not knowing that I'd said said it because I had only been thinking it to myself, yet I got a response, so I had to have said it. "You know miss, If you were a bit less reckless and dramatic, you would spend less time suffering the consequences, which in your case seems to be being unconscious." Serri, of course. My vision faded in. As did everything else now. I was sitting up against a crate with my friends around me, but I jumped to my feet as everything came back. "Desha! Where is she? She-" "Left her host, we know." Heyo finished for me. He ran a claw down the side of my face, and I didn't even tell the darkap to stop. I let him stroke my face, let him comfort me, calm me. "Eliza.." I said quietly. "Terrus." She said with a smile, "You're safe again."

I finally grew annoyed and slapped away Heyo's hand. He drew his hand back, looking hurt, and then stepped away from me. "How am I safe again? How am I here?" I asked Eliza, putting the old confidence and strength and cheerfulness into my voice again. She glanced at Serri, who glanced at Heyo, who glared back at both of them and then looked away from me.

"Heyo...carried you..." Eliza trailed off and that just made me feel ever _MORE_ annoyed. "The darkap _CARRIED ME_?" I shouted incredulously. "Yes..." Eliza said quietly. I payed her no attention, and sent a death glare at Heyo. He met my eyes and backed away some more.

I ignored him too and addressed to Serri, "Get the ship in the air. Now."

When Serri gave me a confusd look, I repeated it angrily. "Get the ship in the air!" "Yes miss." He replied, still confused, but he obeyed and went to the front of the ship very quickly. I looked at Heyo and asked amusedly "Where's my pole?". He smiled and I knew it was here on the ship again because if Heyo had lost a weapon of mine he'd be looking like I was going to slice his head off in an instant.

He extended a hand and I took it, which resulted in him pulling me close, and I let him embrace me. I looked over his shoulder at Eliza and asked, "Where's Desha?" Heyo's body seized up and he pushed me away quickly, and when I met his eyes I saw many emotions, most prominent of them being anger. "I'm not going to let you kill her Terrus." He said bravely. I laughed at him and replied coldly, "Are you willing to die honoring that statement?" Something in his eyes shifted, and then his whole composure did. When he spoke next it was with extreme sorrow, but also determination. "Yes...I'm willing to die in order to stop you." _Unbelievable_! "AFTER EVERYTHING DESHA HAS DONE TO US? YOU CHOOSE TO DEFEND HER STILL?", I screamed in anger, in sorrow, in _PAIN_! "What do you think will happen if we let her live? She'll come at us _AGAIN_, but harder! She's proven she can't be trusted, she's insane, she's veangeful, she's a very dangerous enemy. If we let her live now, all of this happens again! Another trial! All of it! We can't let her live Heyo." I glanced at Eliza, looking for her to back me up, but she didn't.

"Terrus, I...agree with Heyo. I won't let you kill Desha," Eliza said firmly, then added in a raised voice "And SERRI won't let you kill her either! Isn't that right?" Serri's head twisted around to look at her from the front of the ship, and he said resignedly "Yes...I'll stop Terrus from killing Desha." I growled in anger and I said with cold fury, "Tell me where that vile grub is or I-" I broke off instantly, realizing what I'd been about to say: _Or I'll kill you all_. I stepped back physically and my back hit crates.

"Let her go, Terrus. Let this go. If you do this, you'll be as bad as she is. You'll go to another trial and you'll be killed for sure! Please..." Eliza said, voice cracking, flat out BEGGING ME! I stood there for many minutes, frozen in place and deep in my mind, thinking this all out. Neither Heyo nor Eliza said anything. They didn't move either. Finally I said, "Okay. We let her live. We'll turn her over to some Visser. Fix the two darkap giant holes in the ship, then take off for the Taxxon homeworld. There's work to do there anyway, and I'm sick of this planet and everything that goes with it."

Both of them agreed in a heartbeat, as well as Serri, to everyone's surprise. Upon questioning he only said, "It makes sense. Everybody wins."

For the first time, I had put the best interests of my team and myself over my personal emotions and desires.

-One hour later-Cargo Bug Fighter-

We'd left Desha to Sub Visser 312 at a relatively small out of the way Yeerk outpost on the edge of the mists, taken advantage of their resources to repair the view-port and the hull, and now we were flying up and away from the planet that I had come close to calling "Home". With Desha and the problems she posed now left behind, as everything else was being left behind, I felt that everything between my team was healed. The rifts and strains were gone. I was sitting again at my weapons station, and I was grinning again too. "Serri, are you going to get us out of the atmosphere on your own or do you want that darkap ship computer to do it FOR YOU?" i asked him with a laugh. He turned to me and spared me a fake glare, and replied with amusement "I can pilot this ship through the middle of an Andalite fleet of Dome ships and tail-fighters if I have to. Exiting a planets atmosphere is quite simple, miss." The ship hit some invisible force of nature and science that I didn't know or care about as we flew up, and the ship began shaking. I tightened my grip on the control sticks in front of me and suppressed a hiss. Serri tapped a key on his console and within seconds the ship stopped shaking. "Don't be afraid, miss. Nothing is going to happen. If you would like, I could go into Z-Space and then re-enter real space above the planet."

_How lucky I am to have a darkap like this as a friend_. "That would be nice, Serri. But no thanks. Keep going." I replied with a smile. _I don't need to tell him he's a good friend. He knows._ Serri gave me that trademark darkap grin of his and I smiled because of that, and the ship's shields gave warning sounds. "Shut up already." I told the ship with a laugh. Serri tapped a holo-key, which shut it off, also making it seem as if the alarms had listened to me! I broke out into laughter and I knew I had a huge grin too. I laughed and grinned as the ship flew ever more up, and..._Now that I think about it, the red and the orange and the...It's beautiful. It's not really scary_!

With this revelation, I laughed even more, and when the ship broke free of the planet finally, I was joined in my laughter by my Distractions and Heyo.

We kept on laughing so hard that I thought Serri had forgotten to keep piloting, but I was proven otherwise when he took the ship into a downward cork screw and then took us straight through a broken in half cruiser ship's debris.

"What faction did that ship belong to?" I asked him curiously.

He looked at me with that darkap grin still on his face and said loudly over the continuing laughter of Eliza and Heyo "I don't think that's relevant. But, for the sake of curiosity, given the crystalline nature of the hull and the general shape of the ship itself, I would guess that it belongs to the Xandar." I grinned back at him and said in amusement, "They're just lucky the Empire has an established alliance with them, or they'd be dead. WHY DID WE EVEN JOIN WITH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE? That seems very stupid to me! We're conquerors!" I held the weapon control sticks tighter as he flew crazily through a group of asteroids. He laughed maniacally and then continued the conversation as if that haden't just happened!

"If you bothered to pay attention to Ennen 106 during the history courses miss, you would know that we're allied with the Xandar because the Empire realized that with all the weapon and ship factories the Xandar have on their home planet and how wide spread their fleets are, we can't conquer them without suffering so many casualties that we would be easily destroyed by the Andalites. We trade technology of all kinds between each other in this alliance. But the situation between the Xandar and our Empire is unstable, to say the least."

As soon as he finished talking, I realized the ship was dead silent. "Serri. Never. Do anything like that again." I told the darkap slowly. Heyo and Eliza both muttered agreements on their side of the ship, and I saw them suppressing laughter.

Another alarm blared, but it was entirely different than the other alarm sounds I'd heard before on this ship. I saw through the forward view-port that four ships about our size were approaching rapidly. The ships looked like spheres with two cylinders sticking out behind them, and four "U" shapes on the sphere. Two facing forward sitting atop the sphere, and two hanging below the sphere. And attached to the two cylinders I saw dracon cannons. One ship went left, one right, one beneath us and one above us, each ship firing dracon cannon bursts at our ship, but hitting shields only._ For now._

Serri turned the ship around and Heyo nailed one in the engines with the forward dracon beams as it was turning also, and Eliza shouted in panic. "They're Norshk!" I fired off a missile at the sphere part of my acquired target, and it opened up with the dracon cannons and destroyed my missile before it even hit it's mark! "WHO CARES? They're still going to die!" I shouted back as I fired two more missiles at the same ship, one of which hit the sphere part. The other missile blew right past the ship. A miss!

I heard Serri say calmly "You will wish you would have payed more attention to your courses miss. Norshk are often accused of pirating against other space-faring beings." _Pirates! This is the last thing we need!_

"Let's kick their darkap rears and get out of this sector." I said arrogantly as they closed in on us again.


	16. Chapter 15: Long trip, Warm Welcome

**Chronicles of Terrus Chapter 15: Long trip, Warm Welcome**

**-Location: Z-Space-**

"Why did you do **THAT**?" I exclaimed in amusement. Heyo grinned and replied excitedly, "Coren thought my strategy had merit, but was poorly executed." I laughed and shook my head, "Scenario SC-3011...The worst." _If you happened to be Terrus._ I added to myself.

"Scenario SC-3011 was easy compared to TS-Varient 58480." I heard Serri say from behind me. I could hear the grin he had on his face. I turned around and sure enough, the darkap was grinning at Heyo and me.

"No it wasn't! I said with a frown. "TS 58480 was where we were all pushed to near starvation and forced to evade dracon cannons and traps on an enclosed course, as well as fight each other for the Kandrona. Remember? We were all as hunger-crazed as Taxxon."

Serri's grin slipped off his darkap Hork face. I looked back at Heyo, who was sitting completely still and staring at the ship deck. When I turned to stare back at Serri, he was motionless as well, lost in memories.

"Exactly." I said, feeling a bit low spirited because of their low spirits "TS 58480 wasn't an easy situation. That will happen to us out here in the universe at some point in our lives."

_I just hope that that 'some point' will be MUCH later on in our lives._ "I'm going to collect my Veleek." I said suddenly, breaking the painful silence as I followed words with actions. I went to the largest crate and unlocked it, then reached in carefully and heaved my Veleek out. It squirmed in my clawed grasp and snarled at me until I said, "FRUN!" _Stop._ It obeyed instantly and I carried it over to Heyo and sat down next to him with the creature in my arms.

My Veleek stared at Heyo with all four eyes and gave out a low growl. "It still doesn't like you! It remembers that I called you a 'not okay darkap' from...how many days has it been since we left our ho- I mean the Hork homeworld?"

"I don't know, Terrus. Ask the smart one." Heyo said as he stared straight ahead at Serri. Serri craned his neck and stared right back at Heyo, even as the darkap keyed something in on his console._ Show off..._

"Well miss, and my good friend yet not a friend Heyo, it has been exactly twenty seven days since we left." Heyo and I stared at him for a couple of seconds, which prompted him to add unhelpfully (though he may have believed it to be helpful in his own eyes) "We should reach the Taxxon homeworld in precisely ten days, that is, if Z-Space does not experience another fluctuation." _TEN DAYS?_

"I'm going to go crazy! I can't be stuck on this darkap ship with you people for that long!" I shouted.

Serri gave me a slight frown, "Miss, you have been stuck with us on the ship for twenty seven days now, ten more days will not make you insane. And, scientifically, I doubt that you would even "go crazy" anyway. it is interesting how our psychological-"

"Yes that's wonderful nobody cares!" I told him quickly, cutting off his what would have no doubt been a thirty minute in depth discussion. An idea suddenly struck me and I said excitedly, "Serri, if Z-Space experiences a flux, could it possibly shorten the trip time?" He gave a grin and replied, amused, "Yes miss. That is very possible. Let us hope that that happens. For your sanity."

I grinned back "I can't go insane, remember?"

"Perhaps I was lying to you. Perhaps right now you are insane."

I put my Veleek aside and stood up, then said slowly "If I'm insane...then I guess I should try to kill you all now." Serri stared at me in blatant confusion. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Heyo with the same expression on his face. "You really are insane..." He muttered as he stood up himself.

"Come on Heyo, the only time I've ever seen you fight is with those dracon weapons of yours! You need to learn to use your blades. Up close and personal. Don't be a coward!" I said in feigned disgust. "And Serri, your ground based combat skills still leave a lot to be desired as well."

Both of them looked offended as they took up positions in front of me, blades raised,and then I saw their expressions change to anger. I lowered my arms and said reprovingly, "No no no! That's exactly what Vortim told me! You can't fight with rage! Relax."

I brought my arms up again and asked Serri, "Is Eliza making sure this Z-Space trip is going smoothly?"

He looked confused and answered "She is in the Portable Pool, as you very well know."

"So we have three or so hours to do this. Three or so hours of fun time." I said with a grin.

Heyo glared at me and said indignantly, "Terrus, Why are _you_ teaching _us_ how to fight? You're still a grub yourself!"

I glared back at him and replied "You know full well I've passed my training, and I have the most combat experience so far out of all of us. And, besides these points, do you have something else you should be doing on a ship flying through Z-Space full of Hork-Bajir?"

Heyo didn't answer.

"Exactly." I tapped a toe claw against Heyo's shin and said in amusement, "Your footing is all wrong. And your tail is off to the side. A single hit-" I swung my arm at him in an eye-blink and he blocked, but spun around completely and fell into Serri "-And you lose balance."

"I'm not doing this." Heyo said to me. I sighed and he turned to Serri and said again, "I'm not doing this." Serri looked from him to me and said slowly, "On a different day, at a different time, I would agree with you. But Terrus makes good points...and you _are_ a coward."

I smiled and said maliciously "And Serri is an egotistical Yeerk soldier and pilot with plenty of skill pertaining to the 'pilot' aspect of his career but no skills at all when it comes to the 'soldier' part."

"I'm still not doing this..." Heyo muttered.

"STOP BEING STUPID AND FIGHT!" I shouted furiously.

Both of them looked at each other and then rushed me. I easily ducked under both blades and spun around, bringing my arms up and ripping into their backs, spurting blood onto myself and the ship's deck.

"Come on you two! I thought you were better than this!" I taunted in between my laughter as they turned to face me. This time I charged at _them_ and they both broke left and right, Heyo stuck out his leg and Serri slashed for me with both wrist blades! I easily pivoted over Heyo's leg and sliced it off below the knee with my back leg blades and threw out an arm that shoved him backward and off balance.

I met Serri's blades with mine and he blocked everything I threw at him for the next few seconds.

"Would you-" Serri landed a slice on my arm, cutting deep but not severing it.

I kicked out and stabbed my toe blades into his ankle and pulled back at the same time as I made a lateral cut on his chest. "Darkap-"

Serri used his tail to keep from falling on his back and caught my wrist blade strike in between his arm blades. "LEARN-" He twisted his arm, breaking off my wrist blade. "To stop being-"

He swung at me with his left arm, and I physically grabbed his wrist blade with my Hork hand and then rammed my knee blade into his thigh. "Such darkap!"

I felt three quick slices into my back. I realized, I'd ignored Heyo, thinking he was weaker and less skilled, as he _obviously was_! But still..._How could I have made such a mistake?_ Five more slashes went across my back, and in the two seconds that he ceased slashing, I spun myself around with Serri, my knee blade still embedded in his gut, and watched as Heyo slashed into Serri's back.

I pulled my knee blade out of Serri's gut and kicked him backward into Heyo which caused both of them to fall into crates. "Training Session 5633 over." I said with a slight smile. "Let's take a few minutes to heal up. Then we start again."

"Training session 5633?" Heyo repeated mockingly.

I gave him a glare and waved my arm threateningly, "Yes. Maybe we could name it after you though. The training session where everyone fails. Training Session 222." Heyo took a half step toward me in a gesture of intimidation, and I just laughed. "Sit down on that crate and let your darkap host body heal."

"No. Let's keep going." Heyo said quietly.

_What is this darkaps problem?_ _He didn't want to fight and now he does?_ "You don't have a darkap foot! I have a missing wrist blade, Serri took a blade to the gut, and I took eight slashes to my back." I said slowly. I expected him to give in, but what he next said was a shock.

"We won't often get to stop and heal during a real battle or a mission. The Hork hosts heal fast enough when your jumping around anyway. Fast enough to keep living."

"Okay." I said in amusement "But if you end up leaving your host body because it dies, your staying in the Portable until this trip is over, and _then_ I'll get you a Taxxon host."

He flinched at the words 'Taxxon host' but agreed to the terms. I grinned and said, "You're going to be very sorry you ever pressed this on."

For the next hour, I made good on my word, giving cuts, gashes, and almost severed limbs and bruises to my teammates. I took injury too, and finally I halted the fighting. "That was good, even though you're both still darkap." I told them with a smile. _They won't ever know how proud of them I am._

"I am not a darkap." Heyo said, irritated.

"Yes you are." I said slowly, eliciting a small smile from him.

"I'm really not." He insisted angrily despite the smile on his face.

"You are." Serri said with a laugh.

"I am NOT a darkap!" He said, not smiling now.

"Shut up, darkap. You know I don't mean it as an insult." I told him.

Serri laughed and said, "I do."

Heyo ignored Serri and said to me, "I know. Are we at the Taxxon home-world yet?" I turned my head sideways as I stared at him and asked, "Why do you care? Do you really have something going on there?"

He glared at me and shot back, "No. I just get annoyed at being trapped on ships with people that would kill me for saying the wrong thing."

"You just said a wrong thing you darkap, and you aren't dead yet." I said in amusement. I sent a smile Serri's way and asked, "Can you show me how to listen to transmissions from anywhere in the universe regarding our great Empire?"

"Very easily miss, but I believe you only wish to hear the ones being sent out from, on, or toward the Taxxon homeworld." Serri replied as we walked to the front of the ship. Heyo stayed back and went messing around with an HK he'd picked up out of a crate.

I smiled again at Serri. _You know me well, darkap_. "I want to know about Andalite activity there, just to keep an eye on that while we go about our other missions." I stood behind him, shifting my balance impatiently while he hit a few buttons and keyed some things in on his console.

After about a minute he finally stepped away from the console and said to me with a grin, "It's all yours, miss." I grinned back "Thank you." I tapped the activation key and sat in the pilots seat for the first time, and stared into the whiteness of Z-Space as I listened.

"...Vrunai Pool is having Taxxon uprisings almost regularly, Sub Visser! We can't keep going like this-" Another voice broke in, one I assumed to belong to the Sub Visser, "Do nothing. If you kill them all then you kill your work force you fool! Do not wipe out all of them simply because a few of them are rebels. Can you not handle a few Taxxon?" The first voice spoke again, "Sub Visser, these rebel Taxxon are severely hindering the construction of the Vrunai Pool. They're sabotaging everything! The filthy beasts swarm us at times!"

The Sub Visser gave a contemptuous growl that could only belong to a Hork and said, "Do nothing! Erin 8012 do you hear me? Do nothing!" Erin sighed and just said, "Yes...Sub Visser.' And I heard nothing but static and silence.

"Not very effective of them." Serri commented. I looked at him and laughed, then said "Well, we'll have to show them how to be more effective. A small team like us can go in and kill the rebels for them." _Traitorous scum, trying to stop our conquest! That Sub Visser is an incompetent fool, giving an order like that! If it had been _me_ instead of that Erin Yeerk I wouldn't have given in. I would have ignored the Sub Visser and killed all of the Taxxon!_

"Next." I said in a bored voice as I tapped a key to switch to a different channel.

"Dunyol 2056, this is a Yeerk transport en route to the Taxxon homeworld, we've come under attack from...You're not going to believe-" I tried hard to focus on the conversation through the sounds of combat and the background talk. I heard a huge explosion, and then another voice say, "KELBRID? What in the name of the Empire are they doing with Skrit Na?"

Serri and I stared at each other, and I turned the sound down on the console. "Kelbrid?" I said in shock.

"Kelbrid." He said back.

"They're the only ones besides us that can rival the Andalites!" I shouted in a mix of anger and fear. _If those things are working against us actively..._ "Are they with the Andalites now?" I said, finishing my thought aloud.

"How about we listen in a bit more, shall we miss?" Serri said as he turned the sound up again and hit a holo-key.

Disappointingly, it wasn't that same transmission that we began listening in on.

"Vrunai Pool, why did you block my signals?" An angry voice demanded.

"I think the Vrunai Pool, whoever it is from that last call, got a bit more like me." I said with a grin. Serri sighed at me and replied, "Do I detect a hint of pride?" I hissed at him and answered in a mock arrogant tone "Why wouldn't I be proud of who I am? That I'm so perfect?"

He sighed again and poked my shoulder "That is a good point miss. But you are not perfect. Not-" I glared at him and said quickly, "Don't say it! Don't even say it!"

He grinned at that and said in pretend sadness "But I must say it: But you are not perfect. Not even close."

I shoved the darkap over and switched the transmission channel again.

"Dirt world..." Static. "...Taxxon are filthy beasts, I don't know why we-" It kept up like this for a few more seconds until it came in loud and clear.

"Jefuranisasi. Did you and your allies bring what I asked?" I heard a series of hissing noises that I thought was from the transmission, but I recognized it an instant later as the natural language of the Taxxon.

However, this revelation didn't do me any good since I didn't understand the Taxxon language.

After the hissing was over I heard the Galard speaking being say, "Good. In three days time, meet with the contact at the main space-port. Him and his crew will bring the items to me." I heard a single hiss and then the being said "Of course this transmission is insecure. The _gurshiy_ Yeerk Empire keeps track of everything on this world."

"Smart darkap." I commented over the next series of hisses from the Taxxon named Jefuranisasi.

"Not smart enough," Serri said quietly "We could follow this information and do something about it." I stared at him and asked "You want to kill other Yeerks?" He gave me a surprised look and replied, "No. The Taxxon and his allies are rebels. Uninfested. You should have figured that out, miss."

I glared and told him, "Just shut up so I can listen some more."

**-Seven days later-Taxxon Homeworld-**

We all stared at the planet that we would be stuck on for a long time. This was the complete opposite of the Hork-Bajir homeworld. No giant trees, no grass, very little plant life of any kind. It was all mountains and desert. Sand and dirt. But we did notice outposts, bases, underground base entrances, and the different hovercrafts and many different species members roaming or milling around at the spaceports.

"Great. It's going to be another one of these planets." I said sarcastically as the ship touched down at the biggest spaceport this side of the planet.

The spaceport was a ring shaped building with basically nothing inside the ring. Nothing but spaceships and creatures of all kinds! There had to be over two hundred different ships, and many more that of sentients! Skrit Na and Yeerk Empire were the most prominent.

Serri gave me a curious look, "You've only ever been on the Hork-Bajir homeworld, miss."

I ignored him and unstrapped myself from my seat and dashed to the back of the ship, searching through crates until I found everything I needed. I clamped on my utility belt, holstered my twin dracon beams, stuffed extra ammo into the pockets, and slung my pole and a dracon rifle across my back.

I was armed and dangerous. I was hyped. I was ready for anything and anyone. _Now I can show them all what the Yeerk Empire is really made of._ I swished my arm blades through the air a few times and moved to hit the button to lower the ramp-

"Oh great." I heard Heyo say, though if it was to me or himself I didn't know. "We aren't going to war Terrus." I spun my Hork head around and grinned, "What do you think this is, if not a war you darkap? You can come with me now or join me later, either way I'm going out there!"

Eliza gave me a bit of a sad look and said "Promise me you won't go pointlessly killing anyone at least. Please?"

"Okay...I promise." As soon as I said that I felt my excitement go down, but only by a tiny bit. _I won't break my promise to her though. She's right. This many people, this many ships...I'd die in half a second if they all decided to attack the Yeerk Empire members._

"Can I leave now, Torgah?" I asked my best friend with a laugh. Torgah. 'Parent' in the Skirt Na language.

She smiled at me and answered playfully, "Yes. But don't go too far from the ship! And _please_ remember not to go starting fights with anyone here."

"Okay."

Serri was unmoving, intently interested in _something_. The darkap was still messing around with the ship's systems."Bye Serri." I said to his back. He didn't answer me, so I just turned around and reverently pressed the ramp button with a claw.

I swished my tail back and forth and was all but exploding from excitement, from curiosity and from happiness as the ramp came down in front of me. A new world! I was assaulted by light and scents and sounds and sights, much like when I first set foot in that valley on the Hork homeworld, but this time was entirely different in it's own way. It was also entirely too much in it's own way. I took a breath and got calm.

_I'm a proud member of the Yeerk Empire, the greatest rising power in the universe! I will NOT be intimidated by all of this. I won't!_

I angled my powerful Hork legs and jumped forward into the sea of beings, flying over their heads and watching them all move apart as I landed next to a Skrit Na trader ship. A few of the beings close to me stared, but most went about their business. Suddenly something bumped into me from behind and I spun around on instinct and slashed furiously, decapitating a Skrit Na and removing it's arms, causing it to drop a crate, and when it spilled open I saw handheld weapons similar to my dracon beams.

Now_ a lot_ of beings were staring at me. Some of them went for their weapons and I shouted out, "Terrus 5633 of the Yeerk Empire, that's me!" I kicked the dead Skrit and finished coldly, "If anyone crosses me the wrong way, you'll end up just like this fool here!"

_Fear._ I smiled when I recognized it in some of their eyes, and I crouched down and picked up one of the weapons from the crate. Pure black, one trigger and a switch on the side._ Such a small weapon...I can't even get a claw on the trigger fully!_ I gripped it oddly and pointed the barrel away from myself and then pulled the trigger.

The weapon exploded in sound and jerked back in my claws! I thought that maybe it _had_ exploded when I realized I was still holding it, and that a weird being was screeching in pain. It stood at twice my own height. This creature had almost scaly skin like my Hork host did, three legs that were like blades in appearance more than anything, two legs in the front and one in the back. It had four massively muscular arms that were as big as my torso, and ten digits on each hand.

And the skull...that was what intrigued me the most. It was a SPHERE. purely a perfect sphere in shape with one massive sunken in eye and a horizontal slit that went halfway around the sphere skull.

I didn't like the looks of that mouth at all.

There was a tongue which ended in what was definitely a BLADE, and the mouth was ringed with a_ lot_ of incredibly sharp looking teeth.

As the creature looked at me, then at the weapon in my hand, I felt a twinge of fear. _This monster makes my Hork host look harmless!_

The creature rushed toward me and grabbed my throat with one hand, both my arms with it's two others,and punched me in the gut with the fourth one. I struggled with it, but it was futile. The creature slammed me up against the Skrit Na ship, knocking the air out of my lungs even more. It raised me up to eye level with it in one effortless motion, and the tongue shot out and stabbed right through my shoulder and then was back in the mouth in an instant. "What a way to die..." I hissed out as I got my breath back.

_There are so many other beings now crowded around us that I can't escape them all even if I get free of this thing. They would all kill me anyway, judging by the way they're cheering on this monster..._

The sentient made high pitched screeching noises, in bursts and some drawn out, and I knew it was speaking in whatever language belonged to it's species. It made one long continuous noise and sliced my forehead with the tongue/blade. "WOULD YOU SPEAK GALARD?" I yelled at the thing angrily. "And stop hurting me or I'll burn off your face!"

The huge half face mouth thing closed and then opened again, and my sentient captor spoke in Galard "You are in no position to demand anything. You are nothing but a grub, as you Yeerks say."

It punched me five times in the gut with the free arm, and then delivered an uppercut to my jaw. "Where is your Empire's might now, little one?" It taunted.

The sentient released my throat and then began punching away at me, and with each hit I felt bones break! The monster punched for my face but I weaved my neck back and forth, dodging those ones because I knew for sure if even one or two hit I'd probably go unconscious or die! "Where is it, GRUB? WHERE IS YOUR EMPIRE'S MIGHT?" It shouted as it kept on punching me to death.

I heard three distinct whirring sounds, three_ familiar_ whirring sounds, and I laughed because I _knew_ what was behind the monster that had me suspended in the air. "That Empire might that you seem so keen on finding, look behind you darkap."

The creature surprisingly stopped punching me to death and turned around slowly, but still didn't drop me to the ground.

I grinned at the sight of my teammates standing in the front of the crowd, all pointing dracon beams at the giant monster. I waved a little with my hand and said "Hi..." as I still grinned.

Eliza looked at me in disappointment and said "You promised you wouldn't start any fights."

The grin left my face and I replied quietly, "Well...you know me...And I didn't start this fight! Honest!" She just sighed in exasperation, and I immediately back-tracked, "Okay okay! I shot this...sentient. It was accidental! First I showed off a bit and then I ended up slicing apart a Skrit Na, then I found weird hand held weapons, so I decided to test one. I fired it and it...it turned out to be a projectile weapon and it hit this...creature...And that's how I ended up like this."

Serri looked at Heyo and asked him, "What do you think?" Heyo glanced over at him and answered in amusement "That sounds like Terrus. I say we free her." I smiled sweetly at him and shouted "YES! Free her!"

The giant creature shook me roughly and punched me in the back and boomed out, "THIS FOOL PROPELLED A METALLIC ITEM INTO MY BODY! I WILL NOT FREE HER! SHE WILL DIE!"

"Oh great..." I muttered. _I'm just hanging here uselessly!_ Serri stared at the creature and asked "There is always a price. In return for our...trouble making friend, what do you want? Can a deal not be made?"

"NO DEAL WILL BE MADE!" It shouted with finality.

Serri looked to Eliza and Heyo, and they both nodded. "Then we kill you." No sooner had Serri said that than they sprang into action.

Heyo and Eliza rushed in and made to slice off the legs of the thing, but it surprisingly _jumped_ back and then swept an arm out that connected with Eliza, and a split second later Heyo ducked under the arm and sliced upward, but only made a wound instead of cutting it off.

Serri jumped atop the Skrit Na ship and then leaped over onto the back of the giant monster, and I thought that would end the fight right then and there, but the monster punched Serri square in the face, sending my friend flying off to land against the Skrit ship. I again struggled to get free, but the monster just _would not_ let go of me!

"**OH JUST RIP ME IN HALF ALREADY YOU GIANT DARKAP!**" I yelled at it angrily. I regretted saying that in the next second when it began to pull my arms out even as it _still_ dodged Heyo and Eliza!

"Great..." I sighed and let my whole body go limp in an act of buying myself more time before my arms were ripped out.

"USE THE DRACON BEAMS!" I shouted at my friends angrily. Eliza slashed three times on the front left leg and yelled back at me as she jumped away another arm sweep "NO! We might hit you! We don't want to shoot you!"

"THEN DON'T!" I yelled at her, "LIZ, SHOOT ALREADY! YOU WERE GREAT WITH THE DRACON BEAMS DURING TRAINING!"

I saw the tongue/blade flick out and wrap around Heyo's legs and pull him off balance, sending him to the ground where one of the legs stabbed down to meet him, but he rolled out of the way and slashed at it quickly, actually cutting a chunk off and making green blood spray everywhere.

I heard the familiar sound of a Dracon beam firing, and I saw the energy beam burn through the chest of my captor, so close to me that I had almost had my own head taken off! What intrigued me was that the shot hadn't been made from anyone in front of the thing, but from BEHIND.

The monster gave an extremely high pitched screech, and then the arms suddenly stopped pulling on me and it hurled me into the surrounding crowd. I slammed into the first row of beings and kept on going, mowing them all down and slicing them up unintentionally with my bladed body until finally I slammed face first into a small one being fighter craft that I didn't even recognize.

_I can't just lie here like a darkap! GET UP TERRUS! GET UP!_ I screamed at myself._ GET IN THE FIGHT!_

I ignored all pain, all thoughts, and I got to my feet, pulled my pole off my back and then in seven giant leaps, I was over the crowd and in front of the huge sentient monster that was fighting my friends. It stopped when it saw me, and I took advantage of that.

I rushed straight toward the thing and leaped over a sweeping arm, grabbed onto one meant to punch me in the chest, and swung up off it and onto the shoulder of the creature. I swung my pole right onto the giant eye of the thing as hard as I could while slicing furiously into the side of the skull with my arm blades. It screeched and brought up all four arms to dislodge me, but I jumped straight up and pulled out a dracon beam as I came back down to land atop one of the arms.

I dug my feet claws deep into the arm and I fired straight down, sending the arm and myself to the ground.

I saw my three friends now firing openly at the thing. At it's legs, the main body, the arms! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shouted as I flipped back away from the rapidly disintegrating sentient.

"Saving the head shot for you! Take it if you want!" Heyo said with a stupid grin as he deliberately targeted the same leg that had almost impaled him.

"Thank you!" I said as I took my sweet time putting my Dracon beam to full power, and then taking an even longer time sighting up on the head.

_Wait...Wait..._The monster turned around so that the eye was directly looking at me, I saw it blink once, and I pulled the trigger.

The head was nothing. it was simply there one moment, and then it wasn't. There was no explosion, no gore, no flying blood. Just a body with a head one moment, and the next one without it.

"So, what next?" I asked my friends as the giant hole filled, decapitated monster fell to the ground.

"I always find that the journey to this planet is long, and the welcome is...not very warm." A voice said from behind me, and I turned to see a fellow Hork-Bajir controller who had a bit of a smile on his face.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously.

"I am the head of the security forces here on this miserable world." He answered in amusement "I must say that I was not expecting your arrival until _much_ later. And indeed, your fighting skills are _very_ impressive to witness in person."

I gave him a long stare, and then I remembered, "You were that Yeerk from the trial! The one named-"

He radiated pure delight and said, "Yes! Yes, Terrus 5633. I am Esplin 9466."


End file.
